MODERN  HISTORY, 

P  FROM  THE 

TIME    OF   LUTHER 


FALL  OF  NAPOLEON. 

FOE  THE  USE  OF  SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES. 

Br 

joeTn.  lord,  a.m., 

LECTURER  ON   HISTORY. 


HIV 


PHILADELPHIA : 
THOMAS,  COWPERTHWAIT  «Sz;  CO. 

New  York,  Geo.  F.  Cooledge  &  Bro. :— Boston,  Phillips,  Sampson  &  Co ;  B.  B.  Blussey 

&  Co. ;  W.  J.  Reynolds  &  Co. :— Baltimore,  Gushing  &.  Bro. :— Charleston,  S.  C, 

McCarter  <k   Allen :  —  Louisville,  Ky  ,  Morton  <fe  Griswold ;  Beckwith  & 

Morton  :  —  St.   Louis,  Fisher  &  Bennet ;    Wni.  D.  Skilltnan  ;    Amos 

Shultz :  — Cincinnati,  J.  F.  Desilver :  —  NashviUe,  Wm.  T.  Berry; 

Chas.  W.   Smith  :  —  Memphis,   C.    C.    Cleaves  :  —  Lexington, 

C.  S.  Bodley  &  Co. :  —  Macon,  Geo.,  J.   M.  Boardman. 


% 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1849,  by 

JOHN    LORD, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


JSyjT 


STEREOTYPED   AT   THE 
BOSTON   TYPE    AND    STEREOTYPE   FOUNDRY. 


PREFACE 


In  preparing  this  History,  I  make  no  claim  to  origmal 
and  profound  investigations;  but  the  arrangement,  the 
style,  and  the  sentiments,  are  my  own.  I  have  simply 
attempted  to  condense  the  great  and  varied  subjects  which 
are  presented,  so  as  to  furnish  a  connected  narrative  of 
what  is  most  vital  in  the  history  of  the  last  three  hundred 
years,  avoiding  both  minute  details  and  elaborate  dis- 
quisitions. It  has  been  my  aim  to  write  a  book,  which 
should  be  neither  a  chronological  table  nor  a  philosophical 
treatise,  but  a  work  adapted  to  the  wants  of  young  peo- 
ple in  the  various  stages  of  education,  and  which,  it  is 
hoped,  will  also  prove  interesting  to  those  of  maturer  age, 
who  have  not  the  leisure  to  read  extensive  works,  and  yet 
who  wish  to  understand  the  connection  of  great  events 
since  the  Protestant  Reformation.  Those  characters, 
institutions,  reforms,  and  agitations,  which  have  had  the 
greatest  influence  in  advancing  society,  only  have  been 
described,  and  these  not  to  the  extent  which  will  satisfy 
the  learned  or  the  curious.  Dates  and  names,  battles  and 
sieges,  have  not  been  disregarded ;  but  more  attention  has 
been  given  to  those  ideas  and  to  those  men  by  whose 
influence  and  agency  great  changes  have  taken  place, 
a* 


VI  ^  PREFACE. 

In  a  work  so  limited,  and  yet  so  varied,  marginal  refer- 
ences to  original  authorities  have  not  been  deemed  neces- 
sary ;  but  a  list  of  standard  and  accessible  authors  is 
furnished,  at  the  close  of  each  chapter,  which  the  young 
student,  seeking  more  minute  information,  can  easily 
consult.  A  continuation  of  this  History  to  the  present 
time  might  seem  desirable ;  but  it  would  be  difficult  to 
condense  the  complicated  events  of  the  last  thirty  years 
into  less  than  another  volume.  Instead  of  an  unsatisfac- 
tory compend,  especially  of  subjects  concerning  which 
there  are  great  differences  of  opinion,  and  considerable 
warmth  of  feeling,  useful  tables  of  important  events  are 
furnished  in  the  Appendix.  I  have  only  to  add,  that  if 
I  have  succeeded  in  remedying,  in  some  measure,  the 
defects  of  those  dry  compendiums,  which  are  used  for 
want  of  living  histories;  if  I  have  combined  what  is 
instructive  with  what  is  entertaining;  and  especially  if 
I  shall  impress  the  common  mind,  even  to  a  feeble 
degree,  with  those  great  moral  truths  which  history 
ought  to  teach,  I  shall  feel  that  my  agreeable  labor  is 
not  without  its  reward. 

J.  L. 
Boston,  October,  1849. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 


STiTE    OF  EUROPEAN    SOCIETY  IN   THE    FIFTEENTH  AND   SIXTEENTH 
CENTURIES, 
(pp.  1-9.) 
Revival  of  the  Arts  —  Influence  of  Feudalism  —  Effects  of  Scholasticism  — 
Ecclesiastical   Corruptions  —  Papal  Infallibility  —  The   sale  of  Indul- 
gences —  The  Corruptions  of  the  Church  —  Necessity  for  Reform. 


CHAPTER  II. 

MARTIN  LTJTHER  AND  HIS  ASSOCIATES, 
(pp.  10—29.) 
The  Early  Life  of  Luther — Luther's  Early  Religious  Struggles  —  The 
Ninety-Five  Propositions  —  Erasmus  —  Melancthon  —  Leo  X.  —  The 
Leipsic  Disputation  —  Principles  of  the  Leipsic  Disputation  —  The 
Rights  of  Private  Judgment  —  Luther's  Elements  of  Greatness  —  Ex- 
commimication  of  Luther  —  The  Diet  of  "Worms  —  Imprisonment  at 
Wartburg  —  Carlstadt  —  Thomas  Munzer  TJlric  —  Zwingle  —  Contro- 
versy between  Luther  and  Zwingle  —  Diet  of  Augsburg  —  League  of 
Smalcalde  —  Death  and  Character  of  Luther. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    EMPEROR   CHARLES   V.     ^ 
(pp.  30—44.) 
Charles  V.  —  Spain  and  France  in  the  Fifteenth  Century  —  Wars  between 
Charles   and  Francis.  —  Diet  of  Spires  —  Hostilities  between  Charles 
and  Francis  —  African  War —  Council  of  Trent — Treachery  of  Mau- 
rice —  Captivity  of  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse  —  Heroism  of  Maurice  - 
Misfortunes  of  Charles  —  Treaty  of  Passau  —  Character  of  Charles. 


Vm  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


v\ 


HENRY   VIII. 
(pp.  45-59.) 

Rise  of  Absolute  Monarchy  —  Henry  VIII.  —  Rise  of  Cardinal  Wolsey — 
Magnificence  of  Henry  VHI.  —  Anno  BoIcjti  —  Queen  Catharine  — 
Disgrace  and  Death  of  Wolsey  —  More  —  Cranmer  —  CromweU  —  Quar- 
rel with  the  Pope  —  Suppression  of  Monasteries  —  Execution  of  Anne 
Boleyn  —  Anne  of  Cleves  —  Catharine  Howard  —  Last  Days  of  Henry  — 
Death  of  Henry. 

CHAPTER  V. 

EDWARD   VI.    AND   MARY, 
(pp.  GO-68.) 
War  with  Scotland  —  Rebellions  and  Discontents  —  Rivalry  of  the  great 
Nobles  —  Religious  Reforms  —  Execution  of  Northumberland  —  Mar- 
riage of  the  Queen  —  Religious  Persecution  —  Character  of  Mary  —  Ac- 
cession of  Elizabeth. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

ELIZABETH, 
(pp.  69—81.) 
Mary,  Queen  of  Scots  —  John  Knox  —  Marriage  of  Mary  —  Damley  — 
Bothwell  —  Civil  War  in  Scotland  —  Captivity  of  Queen  Mary  —  Execu- 
tion of  Mary  —  Military  Preparations  of  Philip  II.  —  Spanish  Armada  — 
Irish  Rebellion  —  The  Earl  of  Essex — Character  of  Elizabeth  —  Im- 
provements made  in  the  Reign  of  Elizabeth  —  Reflections. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

FRANCIS    II.,   CHARLES    IX.,   HENRY   III.,   AND   HENRY   IV. 
(pp.  82—90.) 
Catharine  de  Medicis  —  Civil  War  in  France  —  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholo- 
mew —  Henry  HI.  —  Henry  IV.  —  Edict  of  Nantes  —  Improvements 
during  the  Reign  of  Henry  FV.  —  Peace  Scheme  of  Henry  IV.  —  Death 
of  Henry  IV.  —  France  at  the  Death  of  Henry  IV. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

PHILIP    II.    AND   THE   AUSTRIAN    PRINCES    OF    SPAIN, 
(pp.  91-96.) 
Bigotry  of  Philip  11.  —  Revolt  of  the  Netherlands  —  Revolt  of  the  Moris- 
coes  —  Causes  of  the  Decline  of  the  Spanish  Monarchy —  The  I^^ease 
of  Gold  and  Silver  —  Decline  of  the  Spanish  Monarchy. 


CONTENTS.  'Jt 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  JESUITS,  AND  THE  PAPAL  POWER  IN  THE  SEVENTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

(pp.  97-107.)  ^ 

The  Roman  Power  in  the  Seventeenth  Century  —  Rise  of  the  Jesuits  —        \ 
Rapid  Spread  of  the  Jesuits  —  Extraordinary  Virtues  of  the  older  Jesu-  | 

its  —  The  Constitution  of  the  Jesuits  —  Degeneracy  of  the  Jesuits  —  / 
Evils  in  the  Jesuit  System  —  The  Popes  in  the  Seventeenth  Century  —  ^ 
Nepotism  of  the  Popes  —  Rome  in  the  Seventeenth  Century.        ,^^ 

CHAPTER  X. 

THIRTY  years'  WAR.  ^ 
(pp.  108—119.) 
Political  Troubles  after  the  Death  of  Luther  —  Diet  of  Augsburg  —  Com- 
mencement of  the  Thirty  Years'  War  —  The  Emperor  Ftederic  —  Count 
Wallenstein —  Character  of  Wallenstein  —  Gustavus  Adolphus  —  Loss 
of  Magdeburg  —  "Wallenstein  reinstated  in  Power  —  Death  of  Gusta- 
vus Adolphus  —  Assassination  of  Wallenstein  —  Treaty  of  Westphalia. 

CHAPTER  XIi 

ADMINISTRATIONS   OF   CARDINALS   RICHELIEU   AND   MAZARIN. 
(pp.  120—132.) 
Regency  of  Mary  de  Medicis  —  Rise  of  Cardinal"  de  Richelieu  —  Suppres- 
sion of  the  Huguenots  —  The  Depression  of  the  great  Nobles  —  Power 
of  Richelieu  —  Character  of  RicheHeu  —  Effects  of  Richelieu's  Policy 

—  Richelieu's  Policy  —  Cardinal  de  Retz  —  Prince  of  Cond6  —  Power 
of  Mazarin  —  Death  of  Mazarin. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

THE    REIGNS    OF   JAMES   I.    AND   CHARLES    I. 
(pp.  133—180.) 
Accession  of  James  I.  —  The  Genius  of  the  Reign  of  James  —  Conspiracy 
of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  —  Gunpowder  Plot  —  Persecution  of  the  Catho- 
lics —  Robert  Carr,  Earl  of  Somerset  —  Greatness  and  Fall  of  Somerset 

—  Duke  of  Buckingham  —  Lord  Bacon  —  Trial  and  Execution  of  Ra- 
leigh—  Encroachments  of  James  —  Quarrel  between  James  and  Parlia- 
ment —  Death  of  James  —  The  Struggle  of  Classes  —  Rise  of  Popular 
Power  —  Quarrel  between  the  King  and  the  Commons  —  The  Counsel- 
lors of  Charles  —Death  of  Buckingham  —  Petition  of  Right  —  Earl  of 
Strafford  —  John  Hampden  —  Insurrection  in  Scotland  —  Long  Parlia- 


X  CONTENTS. 

mcnt  —  Rebellion  of  Ireland  —  Flight  of  the  King  from  London  —  Rise 
of  the  Puritans  —  Original  Difficulties  and  Differences  —  Persecution 
during  the  Reign  of  Elizabeth  —  Archbishops  Grindal  and  Whitgift  — 
Persecution  under  James  —  Puritans  in  Exile  —  Troubles  in  Scotland  — 
Peculiarities  of  Puritanism  in  England  —  Conflicts  among  the  Puritans 

—  Character  of  the  Puritans  —  John  Hampden  —  Oliver  Cromwell  — 
The  King  at  Oxford  —  Cromwell  after  the  Battle  of  Marston  Moor  — 
Enthusiasm  of  the  Independents  —  Battle  of  Naseby  —  Success  of  the 
Parliamentary  Army  —  Seizure  of  the  King  —  Triumph  of  the  Inde- 
pendents —  Cromwell  invades  Scotland  —  Seizure  of  the  King  a  second 
Time  —  Trial  of  the  King.      ' 

CHAPTER  Xm. 

PROTECTORATE    OF   OLIVER  CROMWELL, 
(pp.  181—191.) 
Storming  of  Drogheda  and  Wexford  —  Battle  of  Worcester  —  Policy  of 
Cromwell  —  The  Rump  Parliament  —  Dispersion  of  the  Parliament 
Cromwell  assumes  the  Protectorship  —  The  Dutch  War  —  Cromwdi 
rules  without  a  Parliament  —  The  Protectorate  —  Regal  Government 
restored. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  REIGN  OF  CHARLES  11. 
(pp.  193—210.) 
The  Restoration  —  Great  Public  Rejoicings  —  Reaction  to  Revolutionary 
Principles  —  Excellencies  in  Charles's  Government  —  Failure  of  the 
Puritan  Experiment  —  Repeal  of  the  Triennial  Bill  —  Secret  Alliance 
with  Louis  XTV.  —  Venality  and  Sycophancy  of  Parliament  —  Restric- 
tions on  the  Press  —  Habeas  Corpus  Act  —  Titus  Gates  —  Gates's  Reve- 
latioug  —  Penal  Laws  against  Catholics  —  Persecution  of  Dissenters  — 
Execution  of  Russell  and  Sydney  —  Manners  and  Customs  of  England 

—  Milton  —  Dryden  —  Condition  of  the  People  of  England. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  REIGN  OF  JAMES  II. 
(pp.  211-233.) 
Accession  of  James  II.  —  Monmouth  lands  in  England  —  Battle  of  Sedge- 
moor —  Death  of  Monmouth  —  Brutality  of  Jeffreys  —  Persecution  of 
the  Dissenters  —  George  Fox  — Persecution  of  the  Quakers  —  Despotic 
Power  of  James  —  Favor  extended  to  Catholics  —  High  Commission 
Court  —  Quarrel  with  the  Universities  —  Magdalen  College  —  Prosecu- 
tion of  the  Seven  Bishops  —  Tyranny  and  infatuation  of  James  —  Or- 
ganized Opposition  —  William,  Prince  of  Orange  —  Critical  condition 
of  James  —  Invasion  of  England  by  William  —  Flight  of  the  King  — 
Consummation  of  the  Revolution  —  Declaration  of  Rights. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


LOUIS   XIV.    l^ 

(pp.  234—251.)  '"■■'^Ny 

The  Power  and  Resources  of  Louis  —  His  Habits  and  Pleasures  —  His         \ 
Military  Ambition  —  William,  Prince  of  Orange  —  Second  Invasion  of  i 

Holland  —  Dutch.  War  —  Madame  de  Montespan  —  Madame  de  Mainte-  I 

non  —  League  of  Augsburg  —  Opposing  Armies  and  Generals  —  War  / 

of  the  Spanish  Succession  —  Dxike  of  Marlborough  —  Battle  of  Blen-         / 
heim  —  Exertions  and  Necessities  of  Louis  —  Treaty  of  Utrecht  —  Last      / 
Days  of  Louis  —  His  Character.  ^ 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

WILLIAM   AND   MARY, 
(pp.  252—270.) 
Lrish.  Rebellion  —  King  James  in  Ireland  —  Freedom  of  the  Press  —  Act 
of  Settlement  — Death  of  William  III.  —  Character  of  William— Sir 
Isaac  Newton  and  John  Locke  —  Anne  —  The  Duke  of  Marlborough  — 
Character  of  Marlborough  —  Whigs  and  Tories  —  Dr.  Henry  Sacheve- 
rell  —  Union  of  Scotland  and  England  —  Duke  of  Hamilton  —  Wits  of 
Queen  Anne's  Reign  —  Swift  —  Pope  —  Bolingbroke  —  Gay  —  Prior  — 
-Writers  of  the  Age  of  Queen  Anne. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

PETER  THE  GREAT,  AND  RUSSIA.  > 
(pp.  271—289.) 
Early  History  of  Russia  —  The  Tartar  Conquest  —  Accession  of  Peter  the 
Great  —  Peter's  Reforms  —  His  War  with  Charles  XII.  —  Charles  XII. 
— Building  of  St.  Petersburg  —  New  War  with  Sweden  —  War  with 
the  Turks  —  Peter  makes  a  second  Tour  —  Elevation  of  Catharine  — 
Early  History  of  Sweden  —  Introduction  of  Christianity  —  Gustavus 
Vasa  — Early  Days  of  Charles  XII.  —  Charles's  Heroism  — His  Mis- 
fortunes —  His  Return  to  Sweden  —  His  Death. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

GEORGE  I.,  AND  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  SIR  ROBERT  WALPOLE. 
(pp.  290-309.) 

Accession  of  George  I.  —  Sir  Robert  Walpole  —  The  Pretender  —  Inva- 
sion of  Scotland  —  The  South  Sea  Bubble  —  The  South  Sea  Company 
—  Opposition  of  Walpole  —  Mania  for  Speculation  —  Bursting  of  the 
South  Sea  Bubble  —  Enlightened  policy  of    Walpole  —  East  India 


XU  CONTENTS. 

Company  —  Resignation  of  Townshend— Unpopularity  of  Walpole  — 
Decline  of  his  power  —  Jolm  Wesley  —  Early  life  of  Wesley  —  White - 
field  —  Institution  of  Wesley  —  Itinerancy  —  Great  influence  and  pow- 
er of  Wesley. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

THE    COLONIZATION    OF   AMERICA   AND   THE    EAST    INDIES, 
(pp.  310-341.) 
Commercial  Enterprise  —  Spanish  Conquests  and  Settlements  —  Portu- 
guese Discoveries  —  Portuguese   Settlements  —  Early  English  Entei- 
prise  —  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  —  London  Company  incorporated  —  Hard- 
ships of  the  Virginia  Colony  —  New  Charter  of  the  London  Company 

—  Rapid  Colonization  —  Indian  Warfare — Governor  Harvey  —  Arbi- 
trary Policy  of  Charles  U.  —  Settlement  of  New  England  —  Arrival  of 
the  Mayflower  —  Settlement  of  New  Hampshire  —  Constitution  of  the 
Colony  —  Doctrines  of  the  Puritans  —  Pequod  War  —  Union  of  the 
New  England  Colonies  —  William  Penn  —  Settlement  of  New  York  — 
Conquest  of  New  Netherlands  —  Discovery  of  the  St.  Lawrence  — 
Jesuit  Missionaries  —  Prosperity  of  the  English  Colonics  —  French 
Encroachments  —  European  Settlements  in  the  East  —  French  Settle- 
ments in  India  —  La  Bourdonnais  and  Dupleix  —  Clive's  Victories  — 
Conquest  of  India. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE    REIGN    OF   GEORGE    II. 
(pp.  342-359.) 
The  Pelhams  —  The  Pretender  Charles  Edward  Stuart  —  Surrender  of 
Edinbxirgh —  Success  of  the  Pretender  —  The  Retreat  of  the  Pretender 

—  Battle  of  CuUoden  —  Latter  Days  of  the  Pretender  —  Maria  Theresa 

—  Capture  of  Louisburg  —  Great  Colonial  Contest  —  Character  of  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle  —  Unpopularity  of  the  Pelhams  —  Rise  of  William 
Pitt  —  Brilliant  Military  Successes — Military  Successes  in  America  — 
Victories  of  CUve  in  India  —  Resignation  of  Pitt  —  Peace  of  Paris. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

LOUIS   XV.    "- 

(pp.  360-379.) 

Regency  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans  —  John  Law  —  Mississippi  Company  — 

Popular  Delusion  —  Fatal  Effects  of  the  Delusion  —  Administration 

of  Cardinal  Fleury  —  Cornelius   Jansen — St.  Cyran — Arnauld  —  Le 

Maitre  —  The  Labors  of  the  Port  Royalists  —  Principles  of  Jansenism 

—  Functions  of  the  Parliament  —  The  Bull  Unigenitus  —  Madame  de 
Pompadoxir  —  The  Jesuits  —  Exposure  of  the  Jesmts  —  Their  Expul- 
sion from  France  —  Supprcssio|i  in  Spain  — Pop©  Clement  XTV.. — 
Death  of  Ganganelli  —  Death  of  Louis  XV. 


CONTENTS.  3UII 


rears'  I 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

FREDERIC    THE    GREAT.   ' 
(pp.  380—390.) 
Frederic  "William — Accession  of  Frederic  the  Great  —  The  Seven  Years' 
War  —  Battle  of  Rossbach— Battle  of  Leuthen  —  Fall  of  Dresden —        I 
Reverses  of  Frederic  —  Continued   Disasters  —  Exhaustion  of  Prussia     ^ 
by  the  War  —  Death  of  Frederic  —  Character  of  Frederic.  ,^— -^ 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

MARIA   THERESA   AND   CATHARINE    II.    ^ 
(pp.  391—401.) 
The  Germanic  Constitution — The  Hungarian  War — The  Emperor  Jo- 
seph—  Accession  of  Maria  Theresa  —  She  institutes  Reforms  —  Suc- 
cessors of  Peter  the  Great  —  Murder  of  Peter  III.  —  Assassination  of 
Ivan  —  Death  of  Catharine  —  Her  Character, 

CHAPTER  XXV, 

CALAMITIES    OF    POLAND.     ^ 

(pp.  402-408.)  '  - 

The  Crown  of  Poland  made  elective  —  Election  of  Henry,  Duke  of  Anjou     I 

—  Sobieski  assists  the  Emperor  Leopold  —  The  Liberum  Veto  —  The    j 
FaU  of  Poland.  .^ 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE   DECLINE    OF    THE    OTTOBIAN    EMPIRE, 
(pp.  409—415.) 
Saracenic  Empire  —  Rise  of  the  Turks  —  Turkish  Conquerors  —  Progress 
of  the  Turks  —  Decline  of  Turkish  Power — Turkish  Institutions  — 
Turkish  Character. 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

REIGN    OF    GEORGE    III.    TO    ADMINISTRATION    OF   WILLIAM    PITT, 
(pp.  416— 43L) 
Military  Successes  in  America  —  Prosecution  of  Wilkes — Churchill  — 
Grafton's  Administration  —  Popularity  of  Wilkes — Taxation  of  the 
Colonies  —  Indignation  of  the  Colonies  —  Functions  of  the  Parliament 

—  The  Stamp  Act  —  Lord  Chatham  —  Administration  of  Lord  North  — 
Irish  Discontents  —  Protestant  Association  —  Lord  George  Gordon's 
Riots  —  Parhamentary  Reforms. 


XIY  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXVm. 

THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION, 
(pp.  433-449.) 

Causes  of  the  Revolution  —  Eiots  and  Disturbances  —  Duty  on  Tea  — 
Port  of  Boston  closed  —  Meeting  of  Congress  —  Speech  of  Burke  — 
Battle  of  Bunker  HUl  —  Death  of  Montgomery  —  Declaration  of  Ameri- 
can Independence  —  Commissioners  sent  to  France  —  Capture  of  Bur- 
goyne  —  Moral  Effects  of  Burgoyne's  Capture  —  Arrival  of  La  Fayette 
—  Evacuation  of  Philadelphia — The  Treason  of  Arnold  —  Surrender 
of  Lord  ComwaUis  —  Resignation  of  Lord  North. 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

ADMINISTRATION    OF   WILLIAM   PITT, 
(pp.  450—470.) 

Wniiam  Pitt— Early  Life  of  Pitt— Policy  of  Pitt  —  Difficulties  with 
Ireland  —  The  United  Irishmen  —  Union  of  England  and  Ireland  — 
Condition  of  Ireland  —  Parliamentary  Reform  —  Warren  Hastings  — 
"War  with  Hyder  Ali  —  Robbery  of  the  Princesses  of  Oude —  Prosecu- 

V  tion  of  Hastings  —  Edmund  Burke—  Charles  James  Fox  —  Richard 
Brinsley  Sheridan  —  Bill  for  thfi  Regulation  of  India  —  War  with  Tip- 
poo  Saib  —  Conquest  of  India  —  Consequences  of  the  Conquest  —  War 
with  France  — Policy  of  Pitt. 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION, 
(pp.  471—495.) 
Causes  of  the  French  Revolution  —  Helvetius  —  Voltaire  —  Rousseau — 
Diderot — General  Influence  of  the  Philosophers  —  Sufferings  of  the 
People  —  Degradation  of  the  People  —  Derangement  of  Finances  — 
Maurepas  —  Turgot  —  Malesherbes  —  Necker  — »Calonne  —  States  Gen- 
eral —  The  Tiers  Etat  —  Commotions — Rule  of  the  People  —  National 
Federation  —  Flight  of  the  King  —  The  Girondists  and  the  Jacobins  — 
The  National  Convention  —  Marat  —  Danton  —  Robespierre  —  General 
War  —  Reign  of  Terror  —  Death  of  Robespierre  —  New  Con8tituti9n  — 
The  Directory. 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

NAPOLEON   BONAPARTE, 
(pp.  496—526.) 
Character  of  Bonaparte — Early  Days  of  Bonaparte  —  Early  Services  to  the 
Republic — ^The  Italian  Campaign-^Battle  of  Cape  St.  Vincent — Conquest 


CONTENTS.  XV 

of  Venice  by  Bonaparte  —  Invasion  of  Eg}^)!  —  Siege  of  Acre  —  Reverses 
of  the  French  —  Bonapart-e  First  Consul  —  Immense  Military  Preparations 
—  The  Reforms  of  Bonaparte  —  The  Code  Napoleon  —  Bonaparte  be- 
comes Emperor  of  the  French — Meditated  Invasion  of  England  —  Battle 
of  Austerlitz  —  Battle  of  Jena  —  Bonaparte  aggrandizes  France  —  Ag. 
grandizement  of  Bonaparte's  Family  —  The  Peninsular  War  —  Invasion 
of  Russia  —  Battle  of  Smolensko  —  Retreat  of  the  French  —  Battles  of 
Lutzen  and  Bautzen  —  Battle  of  Leipsic  —  The  Allied  Powers  invade 
France  —  Peace  of  Paris  —  Bonaparte  escapes  from  Elba  —  Battle  of  Wa- 
terloo — Reflections  on  Napoleon's  Fall. 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

EUROPE  ON  THE  FALL  OF  NAPOLEON, 
(pp.  527—532.) 

Remarkable  Men  of  Genius  —  Condition  of  Germany  —  Condition  of 
other  Powers  —  The  United  States  of  America. 


APPENDIX, 


Chronological  Table,  from  the  Fall  of  Napoleon 533 

Prime  Ministers  of  England,  from  the  Accession  of  Henry  VUI., . .  538 
Table  of  the  Monarchs  of  Europe,  during  the  Sixteenth,  Seventeenth, 

and  Eighteenth  Centuries, 541 

Genealogical  Table  of  the  Royal  Family  of  England, 543 

Genealogical  Table  of  the  Bourbons, 544 


i 


MODERN    HI&TORY 


CHAPTER     I. 


STATE    OF    EUROPEAN    SOCIETY    IN    THE    FIFTEENTH    AND 
SIXTEENTH    CENTURIES. 


The  period  at  which  this  History  commences, — the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century, — when  compared  with  the  ages  which 
had  preceded  it,  since  the  fall  of  the  Roman  empire,  was  one 
of  unprecedented  brilliancy  and  activity.  It  was  a  period  very 
fruitful  in  great  men  and  great  events,  and,  though  stormy  and 
turbulent,  was  favorable  to  experiments  and  reforms.  The  na- 
tions of  Europe  seem  to  have  been  suddenly  aroused  from  a 
state  of  torpor  and  rest,  and  to  have  put  forth  new  energies  in 
every  department  of  life.  The  material  and  the  political,  the 
moral  and  the  social  condition  of  society  was  subject  to  powerful 
agitations,  and  passed  through  important  changes. 

Great  discoveries  and  inventions  had  been  made.  The  use  of 
movable  types,  first  ascribed  to  a  German,  of  Mentz,  by  the 
name  of  Gutenberg,  in  1441,  and  to  Peter  Schceffer,  in  1444, 
changed  the  whole  system  of  book-making,  and  vastly  increased 
the  circulation  of  the  Scriptures,  the  Greek  and  Latin  classics,  and 
all  other  valuable  works,  which,  by  the  industry  of  the  monkish 
copyist,  had  been  preserved  from  the  ravages  of  time  and  bar- 
barism. Gunpowder,  whose  explosive  power  had  been  perceived 
by  Roger  Bacon  as  early  as  1280,  though  it  was  not  used  on  the 
field  of  battle  until  1346,  had  completely  changed  the  art  of  war, 
and  had  greatly  contributed  to  undermine  the  feudal  system. 
1  B 


2  REVIVAL   OF   THE   ARTS.  [CHAP.    I. 

The  polarity  of  the  magnet,  also  discovered  in  the  middle  ages, 
and  not  practically  applied  to  the  mariner's  compass  until  1403, 
had  led  to  the  greatest  event  of  the  fifteenth  century — the  dis- 
covery of  America  by  Christopher  Columhus,  in  1492.  The 
impulse  given  to  commerce  by  this  and  other  discoveries  of 
unknown  continents  and  oceans,  by  the  Portuguese,  the  Span- 
iards, the  Dutch,  the  English,  and  the  French,  cannot  be  here 
enlarged  on.  America  revealed  to  the  astonished  European  her 
riches  in  gold  and  silver;  and  Indian  spices,  and  silks,  and 
drugs,  were  imported,  through  new  channels,  into  all  the  coun- 
tries inhabited  by  the  Teutonic  races.  Mercantile  wealth,  with 
all  its  refinements,  acquired  new  importsuice  in  the  eyes  of 
the  nations.  The  world  opened  towards  the  east  and  the  west. 
The  horizon  of  knowledge  extended.  Popular  delusions  were 
dispelled.  Liberality  of  mind  was  acquired.  The  material  pros- 
perity of  the  western  nations  was  increased.  Tastes  became 
more  refined,  and  social  intercourse  more  cheerful. 

Art,  in  all  its  departments,  was  every  where  revived  at  this 
epoch.  Houses  became  more  comfortable,  and  churches  more 
splendid.  The  utensils  of  husbandry  and  of  cookery  were  im- 
proved. Linen  and  woollen  manufactures  supplanted  the  coarser 
fabrics  of  the  dark  ages.  Music  became  more  elaborate,  and 
the  present  system  of  notation  was  adopted.  The  genius  of 
the  sculptor  again  gave  life  and  beauty  to  a  marble  block,  and 
pamting  was  carried  to  greater  perfection  than  by  the  ancient 
Greeks  and  Romans.  Florence,  Venice,  Milan,  and  Rome  be- 
came seats  of  various  schools  of  this  beautiful  art,  of  which 
Michael  Angelo,  Correggio,  the  Carracci,  and  Raphael  were  the 
most  celebrated  masters,  all  of  whom  were  distinguished  for  pe- 
culiar excellences,  never  since  surpassed,  or  even  equalled. 
The  Flemish  artists  were  scarcely  behind  the  Italian  ;  and 
Rubens,  of  Antwerp,  may  well  rank  with  Correggio  and  Titian. 
To  Raphael,  however,  the  world  has,  as  yet,  furnished  no  par- 
allel. 

The  political  and  social  structure  of  society  changed.  The 
crusades,  long  before,  had  given  a  shock  to  the  political  impor- 
tance of  the  feudal  aristocracy,  and  revivmg  commerce  and  art 
had  shaken  the  system  to  its  foundations.     The  Flemish  weav- 


CHAP.  I.]  INFLUENCE  OF  FEUDALISM.  3 

ers  had  arisen,  and  a  mercantile  class  had  clamored  for  new 
privileges.  In  the  struggle  of  classes,  and  in  the  misfortunes  of 
nobles,  monarchs  had  perceived  the  advantages  they  might  gain, 
and  fortunate  circumstances  enabled  them  to  raise  absolute 
thrones,  and  restore  a  central  power,  always  so  necessary  to  the 
cause  of  civilization.  Feudalism  had  answered  many  useful 
ends  in  the  dark  ages.  It  had  secured  a  reciprocity  of  duties 
between  a  lord  and  his  vassal ;  it  had  restored  loyalty,  truth, 
and  fidelity  among  semi-barbarians ;  it  had  favored  the  culti- 
vation of  the  soil ;  it  had  raised  up  a  hardy  rural  population ;  it 
had  promoted  chivalry,  and  had  introduced  into  Europe  the  mod- 
ern gentleman  ;  it  had  ennobled  friendship,  and  spread  the  graces 
Df  urbanity  and  gentleness  among  rough  and  turbulent  warriors. 
But  it  had,  also,  like  all  human  institutions,  become  coiTupt,  and 
failed  to  answer  the  ends  for  which  it  was  instituted.  It  had 
become  an  oppressive  social  despotism ;  it  had  widened  the  dis- 
tinction between  the  noble  and  ignoble  classes ;  it  had  produced 
selfishness  and  arrogance  among  the  nobles,  and  a  mean  and 
cringing  sycophancy  among  the  people ;  it  had  perpetuated 
privileges,  among  the  aristocracy,  exceedingly  unjust,  and  ruin- 
ous to  the  general  welfare  of  society.  It  therefore  fell  before  the 
advancing  spirit  of  the  age,  and  monarchies  and  republics  were 
erected  on  its  ruins.  The  people,  as  well  as  monarchs,  had 
learned  the  secret  of  their  power.  They  learned  that,  by  com- 
bining their  power,  they  could  successfully  resist  their  enemies. 
The  principle  of  association  was  learned.  Combinations  of 
masses  took  place.  Free  cities  were  multiplied.  A  population 
of  artificers,  and  small  merchants,  and  free  farmers  arose. 
They  discussed  their  privileges,  and  asserted  their  independence. 
Political  liberty  was  bom,  and  its  invaluable  blessings  were  con- 
ceived, if  they  were  not  realized. 

And  the  intellectual  state  of  Europe  received  an  impulse  as 
marked  and  beneficent  as  the  physical  and  social.  The  scho- 
lastic philosophy,  with  its  dry  and  technical  logic,  its  abstruse 
formulas,  and  its  subtile  refinements,  ceased  to  satisfy  the  wants 
of  the  human  mind,  now  craving  light  and  absolute  knowledge 
m  all  departments  of  science  and  philosophy.  Like  feudal- 
Ism,  it  had  once   been  useful ;  but,  like  that  institution,  it  had 


4  JEFFECTS   OF   SCHOLASTICISM.  [cHAP.     . 

also  become  corrupted,  and  an  object  of  sarcasm  and  mockery. 
It  had  trained  the  European  mind  for  the  discoveries  of  the  six- 
teenth century ;  it  had  raised  up  an  inquisitive  spirit,  and  had  led 
to  profound  reflections  on  the  existence  of  God,  on  his  attributes 
and  will,  on  the  nature  of  tlie  soul,  on  tlie  faculties  of  the  mind, 
and  on  the  practical  duties  of  life.  But  this  philosophy  be- 
(5ame  pedantic  and  cold ;  covered,  as  with  a  funereal  shade,  the 
higher  pursuits  of  life;  and  diverted  attention  from  what  was 
practical  and  useful.  That  earnest  spirit,  which  raised  up  Lu- 
ther and  Bacon,  demanded,  of  the  great  masters  of  thought, 
something  which  the  people  could  understand,  and  something 
which  would  do  them  good. 

In  poetry,  the  insipid  and  immoral  songs  of  the  Provencal 
bards  gave  place  to  the  immortal  productions  of  the  great  creators 
of  the  European  languages.  Dante  led  the  way  in  Italy,  and 
gave  to  the  world  the  "  Divine  Comedy "  —  a  masterpiece  of 
human  genius,  which  raised  him  to  the  rank  of  Homer  and  Virgil. 
Petrarch  followed  in  his  steps,  and,  if  not  as  profound  or  original 
as  Dante,  yet  is  unequalled  as  an  "enthusiastic  songster  of 
ideal  love,"  He  also  gave  a  great  impulse  to  civilization  by  his 
labors  in  collecting  and  collating  manuscripts,  Boccaccio  also 
lent  his  aid  in  the  revival  of  literature,  and  wrote  a  series  of 
witty,  though  objectionable  stories,  from  which  the  English 
Chaucer  borrowed  the  notion  of  his  "  Canterbury  Tales."  Chau- 
cer is  the  father  of  English  poetry,  and  kindled  a  love  of  literature 
among  his  isolated  countrymen ;  and  was  one  of  the  few  men 
who,  in  the  evening  of  his  days,  looked  upon  the  world  without 
austerity,  and  expressed  himself  with  all  the  vivacity  of  youthful 
feeling. 

Such  were  some  of  the  leading  events  and  circumstances 
which  gave  a  new  life  to  European  society,  and  created  a  desire 
for  better  days.  All  of  these  causes  of  improvement  acted  and 
reacted  on  each  other  in  various  ways,  and  prepared  the  way  for 
new  and  great  developments  of  action  and  passion.  These  new 
energies  were,  however,  unfortunately  checked  by  a  combination 
of  evils  which  had  arisen  in  the  dark  ages,  and  which  required  to 
be  subverted  before  any  great  progress  could  be  reasonably  e!x 
pected.     These  evils  were  most  remarkable  in  the  church  itself, 


CHAP.  I.]  ECCLESIASTICAL    CORRUPTIONS.  5 

and  almost  extinguished  the  light  which  Christ  and  his  apostles 
had  kindled.  The  church  looked  with  an  evil  eye  on  many  of  the 
greatest  improvements  and  agitations  of  the  age,  and  attempted 
to  suppress  the  spirit  of  insurrection  which  had  arisen  against  the 
abuses  and  follies  of  past  ages.  Great  ideas  were  ridiculed,  and 
daring  spirits  were  crushed.  There  were  many  good  men  in 
the  church  who  saw  and  who  lamented  prevailing  corruptions, 
hut  their  voice  was  overwhelmed  by  the  clamors  of  interested  par- 
tisans, or  silenced  by  the  authority  of  the  popes.  The  character 
of  the  popes  themselves  was  not  what  was  expected  of  the  heads 
of  the  visible  church,  or  what  was  frequently  exhibited  in  those 
ignorant  and  superstitious  times,  when  the  papacy  fulfilled,  in  the; 
opinion  of  many  enlightened  Protestants,  a  benevolent  mission. 
None  had  the  disinterestedness  of  Gregory  L,  or  the  talents  of 
Gregory  VII.  There  had  been  a  time  when  the  great  central 
spiritual  monarchy  of  Rome  had  been  exercised  for  the  peace  and 
tranquillity  of  Europe,  when  it  was  uniformly  opposed  to  slavery 
and  war,  and  when  it  was  a  mild  and  paternal  government,  which 
protected  innocence  and  weakness,  while  it  punished  injustice  and 
crime.  The  time  was,  when  popes  had  been  elevated  for  their 
piety  and  learning,  and  when  they  lived  as  saints  and  died  as 
martyrs.  But  that  time  had  passed.  The  Roman  church  did  not 
keep  up  with  the  spirit  or  the  wants  of  the  age,  and  moreover  did 
not  reform  itself  from  vices  which  had  been  overlooked  in  ages 
of  ignorance  and  superstition.  In  the  fifteenth  century,  many 
great  abuses  scandalized  a  body  of  men  who  should  have  been 
the  lights  of  the  world ;  and  the  sacred  pontiffs  themselves  set 
examples  of  unusual  depravity.  Julius  II.  marched  at  the  head 
of  armies.  Alexander  VI.  secured  his  election  by  bribery,  and 
reigned  by  extortion.  He  poisoned  his  own  cardinals,,  and  be* 
stowed  on  his  son  Csesar  Borgia  —  an  incarnated  demon  —  the 
highest  dignities  and  rewards.  It  was  common  for  the  popes  to 
sell  the  highest  offices  in  the  church  for  money,  to  place  boys  on 
episcopal  thrones,  to  absolve  the  most  heinous  and  scandalous 
crimes  for  gold,  to  encourage  the  massacre  of  heretics,  and  to 
disgrace  themselves  by  infamous  vices.  And  a  general  laxity  of 
morals  existed  among  all  orders  of  the  clergy.  They  were  igno 
rant,  debauched,  and  ambitious.  The  monks  were  exceedingly 
1* 


6  PAPAL   INFALLIBILITY.  [CHAl-.  * 

numerous ;  had  ceased  to  be  men  of  prayer  and  contemplation, 
iis  in  the  days  of  Benedict  and  Bernard ;  and  might  be  seen  fre- 
•juenting  places  of  demoralizing  excitement,  devoted  to  pleasure, 
and  enriched  by  inglorious  gains. 

But  the  evils  which  the  church  encouraged  were  more  danger- 
ous than  the  vices  of  its  members.  These  evils  were  inherent  in 
the  papal  system,  and  were  hard  to  be  subverted.  There  were 
corruptions  of  doctrine,  and  corruptions  in  the  government  and 
customs  of  the  church. 

There  generally  prevailed,  throughout  Christendom,  the  belief 
in  papal  infallibility,  which  notion  subverted  the  doctrines  of  the 
Bible,  and  placed  its  truths,  at  least,  on  a  level  with  the  authority 
of  the  schoolmen.  It  favored  the  various  usurpations  of  the 
popes,  and  strengthened  the  bonds  of  spiritual  despotism. 

The  popes  also  claimed  a  control  over  secular  princes,  as  well 
♦IS  the  supremacy  of  the  church.  Hildebrand  was  content  with 
riveting  the  chains  of  universal  spiritual  authority,  the  evil  and 
absurdity  of  which  cannot  well  be  exaggerated  ;  but  his  more 
ambitious  successors  sought  to  reduce  the  kings  of  the  earth  to 
perfect  vassalage,  and,  when  in  danger  of  having  their  monstrous 
usurpations  torn  from  them,  were  ready  to  fill  the  world  with 
discord  and  war. 

But  the  worldly  popes  of  the  fifteenth  century  also  aspired  to 
be  temporal  princes.  They  established  the  most  elegant  court 
in  Europe  ;  they  supported  large  armies  ;  they  sought  to  restore 
the  splendor  of  imperial  Rome  ;  they  became  ambitious  of  found- 
ing great  families ;  they  enriched  their  nephews  and  relations  at 
the  sacrifice  of  the  best  interests  of  their  church  ;  they  affected 
great  state  and  dignity  ;  they  built  gorgeous  palaces  ;  they  orna- 
mented their  capital  with  pictures  and  statues. 

The  territories  of  Rome  were,  however,  small.  The  lawful 
revenues  of  the  popes  were  insufficient  to  gratify  their  extrava- 
gance and  pomp.  But  money,  nevertheless,  they  must  have.  In 
order  to  raise  it,  they  resorted  to  extortion  and  corruption.  They 
imposed  taxes  on  Christendom,  direct  and  indirect.  These  were 
felt  £is  an  intolerable  burden ;  but  such  was  the  superstition  of 
the  times,  that  they  were  successfully  raised.  But  even  these 
were  insufficient  to  gratify  papal  avarice  and  rapacity.      They 


CHAP.  1.]  THE    SALE    OF    INDULGENCES.  7 

then  resorted,  in  their  necessities,  to  the  meanest  acts,  imposed  on 
the  simplicity  of  their  subjects,  and  finally  adopted  the  most 
infamous  custom  which  ever  disgraced  the  world. 

They  pardoned  sins  for  money  —  granted  sales  of  indulgences 
for  crime.  A  regular  scale  for  absolution  was  graded.  A  proc- 
lamation was  made  every  fifty,  and  finally  every  twenty-five 
years,  of  a  year  of  jubilee,  when  plenary  remission  of  all  sin  was 
promised  to  those  who  should  make  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome.  And 
so  great  was  the  influx  of  strangers,  and  consequently  of  wealth, 
to  Rome,  that,  on  one  occasion,  it  was  collected  into  piles  by 
rakes.  It  is  computed  that  two  hundred  thousand  deluded  per- 
sons visited  the  city  in  a  single  month.  But  the  vast  sums 
they  brought  to  Rome,  and  the  still  greater  sums  which  were 
obtained  by  the  sale  of  indulgences,  and  by  various  taxations, 
were  all  squandered  in  ornamenting  the  city,  and  in  supporting  a 
luxurious  court,  profligate  cardinals,  and  superfluous  ministers 
of  a  corrupted  religion.  Then  was  erected  the  splendid  church 
of  St.  Peter,  more  after  the  style  of  Grecian  temples,  than  after 
the  model  of  the  Gothic  cathedrals  of  York  and  Cologne.  Glorious 
was  that  monument  of  reviving  art ;  wonderful  was  its  lofty 
dome ;  but  the  vast  sums  required  to  build  it  opened  the  eyes 
of  Christendom  to  the  extravagance  and  presumption  of  the 
popes ;  and  this  splendid  trophy  of  their  glory  also  became  the 
emblem  of  their  broken  power.  Their  palaces  and  temples 
made  an  imposing  show,  but  detracted  from  their  real  strength, 
which  consisted  in  the  affections  of  their  spiritual  subjects.  Their 
outward  grandeur,  like  the  mechanical  agencies  which  kings  em- 
ploy, was  but  a  poor  substitute  for  the  invisible  power  of  love, — 
in  all  ages,  and  among  all  people,  "  that  cheap  defence  "  which 
supports  thrones  and  kingdoms. 

Another  great  evil  was,  the  prevalence  of  an  idolatrous  spirit. 
In  the  churches  and  chapels,  and  even  in  private  families,  were 
innumerable  images  of  saints,  pictures  of  the  Virgin,  relics,  cru- 
cifixes, &c., "designed  at  first  to  kindle  a  spirit  of  devotion  among 
the  rude  and  uneducated,  but  gradually  becoming  objects  of  real 
adoration.  Intercessions  were  supposed  to  be  made  by  the  Virgin 
Mary,  and  by  favorite  saints,  more  efficacious  with  Deity  than  the 
penitence  and  prayers  of  the  erring  and  sinful  themselves.     The 


8  THE  CORRUPTIONS  OF  THE  CHURCH.       [CHAP.  I. 

influence  of  this  veneration  for  martyrs  and  saints  was  degradinr; 
to  the  mind,  and  became  a  very  lucrative  source  of  profit  to  the 
priests,  who  peddled  the  bones  and  relics  of  saints  as  they  did 
indulgences,  and  who  invented  innumerable  lies  to  attest  the  gen- 
uineness and  antiquity  of  the  objects  they  sold,  all  of  which  were 
parts  of  the  great  system  of  fraud  and  avarice  which  the  church 
permitted.  .  ~""    ~~ 

Again  ;  the  public  worship  of  God  was  in  a  language  the  people 
could  not  understand,  but  rendered  impressive  by  the  gorgeous 
dresses  of  the  priests,  and  the  magnificence  of  the  altar,  and  the 
images  and  vessels  of  silver  and  gold,  reflecting  their  splendor, 
by  tlie  light  of  wax  candles,  on  the  sombre  pillars,  roofs,  and 
windows  of  the  Gothic  church,  and  the  effect  heightened  by 
exciting  music,  and  other  appeals  to  the  taste  or  imagination, 
rather  tlian  to  the  reason  and  the  heart.  The  sermons  of  the 
clergy  were  frivolous,  and  ill  adapted  to  the  spiritual  wants  of 
the  people.  "  Men  went  to  the  Vatican,"  says  the  learned  and 
philosophical  Ranke,  "  not  to  pray,  but  to  contemplate  the  Belvi- 
dere  Apollo.  They  disgraced  the  most  solemn  festivals  by  open 
profanations.  The  clergy,  in  their  services,  sought  the  means 
of  exciting  laughter.  One  would  mock  the  cuckoo,  and  another 
recite  indecent  stories  about  St.  Peter."  Luther,  when  he  visited 
Italy,  was  extremely  shocked  at  the  infidel  spirit  which  prevailed 
among  the  clergy,  who  were  hostile  to  the  circulation  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  who  encouraged  persecutions  and  inquisitions. 
This  was  the  age  when  the  dreadful  tribunal  of  the  Inquisition 
flourished,  although  its  chief  enormities  were  perpetrated  in  Spain 
and  Portugal.  It  never  had  an  existence  in  England,  and  but 
little  influence  in  France  and  Germany.  But  if  the  Church  did 
not  resort,  in  all  countries,  to  that  dread  tribunal  which  subjected 
youth,  beauty,  and  innocence  to  the  inquisitorial  vengeance  of 
narrow-minded  Dominican  monks,  still  she  was  hostile  to  free 
inquiry,  and  to  all  efforts  made  to  emancipate  the  reason  of  men. 

The  spirit  of  religious  persecution,  which  inflamec^  the  Roman 
Church  to  punish  all  dissenters  from  the  doctrine  and  abuses  she 
promulgated,  can  never  be  questioned.  The  Waldenses  and 
Albigenses  had  suffered,  in  darker  times,  almost  incredible  hard- 
ships and  miseries  —  had  been  almost  annihilated  by  the  dreadful 


CHAP.  I.]  NECESSITY  FOR  REFORM.  9 

crusade  which  was  carried  on  against  them,  so  that  two  hundred 
thousand  had  perished  for  supposed  heresy.  But  reference  is  not 
now  made  to  this  wholesale  massacre,  but  to  those  instances  of 
individual  persecution  which  showed  the  extreme  jealousy  and 
hatred  of  Rome  of  all  new  opinions.  John  Huss  and  Jerome 
of  Prague  were  publicly  burned  for  attempting  to  reform  the 
church,  and  even  Savonarola,  who  did  not  deny  the  authority  of 
the  popes,  was  condemned  to  the  flames  for  denouncing  the  vices 
of  his  age,  rather  than  the  evils  of  the  church. 

These  multiplied  evils,  which  checked  the  spirit  of  improve- 
ment, called  loudly  for  reform.  Councils  were  assembled  for  the 
purpose ;  but  councils  supported,  rather  than  diminished,  the  evils 
of  which  even  princes  complained.  The  reform  was  not  destined 
to  come  from  dignitaries  in  the  church  or  state ;  not  from  bishops, 
nor  philosophers,  nor  kings,  but  from  an  obscure  teacher  of 
divinity  in  a  German  university,  whom  the  genius  of  a  reviving 
and  awakened  age  had  summoned  into  the  field  of  revolutionary 
warfare.  It  was  reserved  for  Martin  Luther  to  commence  the 
first  successful  rebellion  against  the  despotism  of  Rome,  and  to 
give  the  greatest  impulse  to  freedom  of  thought,  and  a  general 
spirit  of  reform,  which  ten  centuries  had  seen. 

The  most  prominent  event  in  modern  times  is  unquestionably 
the  Protestant  Reformation,  and  it  was  by  far  the  most  momen- 
tous in  its  results.  It  gave  rise,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  the  great 
wars  of  the  sixteenth  and  sevente'^nth  centuries,  as  well  as  to 
those  rival  sects  which  agitated  the  theological  world.  It  is  con- 
nected with  the  enterprises  of  great  monarchs,  with  the  struggle 
of  the  Huguenots  and  Puritans,  with  the  difiTusion  of  knowledge, 
and  with  the  progress  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  in  Europe. 
An  event,  therefore,  of  such  interest  and  magnitude,  may  well  bo 
adopted  as  a  §tarting  point  in  modern  history,  and  will,  accord- 
ingly, be  the  first  subject  of  especial  notice.  History  is  ever  most 
impressive  and  philosophical  when  great  changes  and  revolutions 
are  traced  to  the  agency  of  great  spiritual  ideas.  Moreover, 
modern  history  is  so  complicated,  that  it  is  difficult  to  unravel  it, 
except  by  tracing  the  agency  of  great  causes,  rath^  than  by 
detailing  the  fortunes  of  kings  and  nobles. 


10  THE   EAELY   LIFE   OF   LUTHER.  [cHAP.  II. 

CHAPTER    II. 

MARTIN    LUTHER    AND    HIS   ASSOCIATES. 

Maetin  Luther  was  bom  the  10th  of  November,  1483,  at  Eis- 
leben,  in  Saxony.  His  father  was  a  miner,  of  Mansfield,  and  his 
ancestors  were  peasants,  who  lived  near  the  summit  of  the  Thu- 
ringian  Forest.  His  early  years  were  spent  at  Mansfield,  in  ex- 
treme poverty,  and  he  earned  his  bread  by  singing  hymns  before 
the  houses  of  the  village.  At  the  age  of  fifteen,  he  went  to 
Eisenach,  to  a  high  school,  and  at  eighteen  entered  the  university 
of  Erfurt,  where  he  made  considerable  progress  in  the  sciences 
then  usually  taught,  which,  however,  were  confined  chiefly  to  the 
scholastic  philosophy.  He  did  not  know  either  Greek  or  Hebrew, 
but  read  the  Bible  in  Latin.  In  1505,  he  took  his  degree  of 
bachelor  of  arts,  and,  shortly  after,  his  rejigious  struggles  com- 
menced. He  had  witnessed  a  fearful  tempest,  which  alarmed 
him,  while  on  a  visit  at  his  father's  house,  and  he  was  also  much 
depressed  by  the  death  of  an  intimate  friend.  In  that  age,  the 
serious  and  the  melancholy  generally  sought  monastic  retreats, 
and  Luther,  thirsty  after  divine  knowledge,  and  anxious  to  save 
his  soul,  resolved  to  forsake  the  world,  and  become  a  monk.  He 
entered  an  Augustinian  monastery  at  Erfurt,  soon  after  obtaining 
his  first  degree.  But  the  duties  and  studies  of  monastic  life  did 
not  give  his  troubled  soul  the  repose  he  sought.  He  submitted  to 
all  the  irksome  labors  which  the  monks  imposed  ;  he  studied  the 
fathers  and  the  schoolmen ;  he  practised  the  most  painful  austeri- 
ties, and  fastings,  and  self-lacerations :  still  he  was  troubled  with 
religious  fears.  His  brethren  encouraged  his  good  works,  but  his 
perplexities  and  doubts  remained.  In  this  state  of  mind,  he  was 
found  by  Staupitz,  vicar-general  of  the  order,  who  was  visiting  Er- 
furt, in  his  tour  of  inspection,  with  a  view  to  correct  the  bad  morals, 
of  the  monasteries.  He  sympathized  with  Luther  in  his  religious 
feelings,  treated  him  with  great  kindness,  and  recommended  the 
reading  of  the  Scriptures,  and  also  the  works  of  St.  Augustine, 


CHAP.  II.]         THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  LUTHER.  11 

whose  theological  views  he  himself  had  embraced.  Although  St. 
Augustine  was  a  great  oracle  in  the  Roman  church,  still,  his 
doctrines  pertaining  to  personal  salvation  differed  in  spirit  from 
those  which  were  encouraged  by  the  Roman  Catholic  divines 
generally,  who  attached  less  importance  to  justification  by  faith 
ihan  did  the  venerated  bishop  of  Hyppo.  In  that  age  of  abuses, 
great  importance  was  attached,  by  the '  church,  to  austerities, 
j)enance,  and  absolutions  for  money.  But  Luther,  deeply  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  Augustine,  at  length  found  light,  and  repose, 
and  joy,  in  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  alone.  This 
became  more  and  more  the  idea  of  his  life,  especially  at  this  time. 
The  firmness  of  his  convictions  on  this  point  became  extraordi- 
nary, and  his  spiritual  gladness  now  equalled  his  former  de- 
pression and  anxiety.  He  was  soon  to  find  a  sphere  for  the 
development  of  his  views. 

Luther  was  consecrated  as  a  priest  in  1507,  and  in  1508  he 
was  invited  by  Frederic,  Elector  of  Saxony,  to  become  a  professor 
in  the  new  university  which  he  had  established  at  Wittemberg. 
He  was  now  twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  the  fact,  that  he  should 
have  been  selected,  at  that  early  age,  to  teach  dialectics,  is  a 
strong  argument  in  favor  of  his  attainments  and  genius. 

He  now  began  to  apply  himself  to  the  study  of  the  Greek  and 
Hebrew,  and  delivered  lectures  on  biblical  theology  ;  and  his  novel 
method,  and  great  enthusiasm,  attracted  a  crowd  of  students. 
But  his  sermons  were  more  striking  even  than  his  lectures,  and 
he  was  invited,  by  the  council  of  Wittemberg,  to  be  the  preache* 
for  the  -city.  His  eloquence,  his  learning,  and  his  zeal,  now 
jxttracted  considerable  attention,  and  the  elector  himself  visited 
Wittemberg  to  hear  him  preach.  ^ 

In  1512,  he  was  sent  on  an  embassy  to  Rome,  and,  while  in 
Italy,  obtained  useful  knowledge  of  the  actual  state  of  the 
hierarchy,  and  of  morals  and  religion.  Julius  II.,  a  warlike 
pontiff,  sat  on  the  throne  of  St.  Peter ;  and  the  "  Eternal  City  " 
was  the  scene  of  folly,  dissipation,  and  clerical  extortion.  Luther 
returned  to  Germany  completely  disgusted  with  every  thing  he 
had  seen  —  the  levity  and  frivoKty  of  the  clergy,  and  the  igno- 
rance and  vices  of  the  people.  He  was  too  earnest  in  his  religious 
views  and  feelings  to  take  much  interest  in  the  works  of  art,  oj 


12  Luther's  early  religious  struggles.      [chap.  ii. 

the  pleasures,  which  occupied  the  attention  of  the  Italians ;  and  the 
impression  of  the  general  iniquity  and  corruption  of  Rome  never 
passed  away,  and  probably  gave  a  new  direction  to  his  thoughts. 

On  his  return,  in  1512,  he  was  made  doctor  of  divinity,  then  a 
j!;rent  distinction,  and  renewed  his  lectures  in  the  university  with 
great  ardor.  He  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  studies,  and  a  new 
form  to  tlic  opinions  of  both  professors  and  students.  Lupinus 
and  Carlstadt,  his  colleagues,  were  converts  to  his  views.  All 
within  his  sphere  were  controlled  by  his  commanding  genius, 
and  extraordinary  force  of  character.  He  commenced  war  upon 
the  schoolmen,  and  was  peculiarly  hostile  to  Thomas  Aquinas, 
whom  he  accused  of  Pelagianism.  He  also  attacked  Aristotle, 
the  great  idol  of  the  schools,  and  overwhelmed  scholasticism  with 
sarcasm  and  mockery. 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  when  the  preachers  of  indulgences, 
whom  Leo  X.  had  encouraged,  in  order  to  raise  money  for  St. 
Peter's  Church,  arrived  in  the  country  round  the  Elbe.  They 
had  already  spread  over  Germany,  Switzerland,  and  France. 
Their  luxury  and  extravagance  were  only  equalled  by  their  pre- 
sumption and  insolence.  All  sorts  of  crime  were  pardoned  by 
these  people  for  money.  Among  the  most  remarkable  of  these 
religious  swindlers  and  pedlers  was  Tetzel.  He  was  a  friar  of 
the  Dominicans,  apostolical  commissioner,  inquisitor,  and  bachelor 
of  theology.  He  united  profligate  morals  with  great  pretensions 
to  sanctity ;  was  somewhat  eloquent,  so  far  as  a  sonorous  voice 
was  concerned,  and  was  very  bold  and  haughty,  as  vulgar  men, 
raised  to  eminence  and  power,  are  apt  to  be.  But  his  peculiarity 
consisted  in  the  audacity  of  his  pretensions,  and  his  readiness 
in  inventing  stories  to  please  the  people,  ever  captivated  by 
rhetoric  and  anecdote.  "  Indulgences,"  said  he,  "  are  the  most 
precious  and  sublime  of  God's  gifts."  "  I  would  not  exchange 
my  privileges  for  those  of  St.  Peter  in  heaven ;  for  I  have  saved 
more  souls,  with  my  indulgences,  than  he,  with  his  sermons." 
"  There  is  no  sin  so  great  that  the  indulgence  cannot  remit  it : 
even  repentance  is  not  necessary:  indulgences  save  not  the 
livmg  alone,  —  they  save  the  dead."  "  The  very  moment  that  the 
money  clinks  against  the  bottom  of  this  chest,  the  soul  escapes 
from  purgatory,  and  flies  to  heaven."    "  And  do  you  know  why 


CHAP.    II.]  THE    NINETY-FIVE    PROPOSITIONS.  13 

our  Lord  distributes  so  rich  a  grace  ?  The  dilapidated  Church  of 
St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  is  to  be  restored,  which  contains  the  bodies 
of  those  holy  apostles,  and  which  are  now  trodden,  dishonored, 
and  polluted." 

Tetzel  found  but  few  sufficiently  enlightened  to  resist  him,  and 
he  obtained  great  sums  from  the  credulous  people.  This  abom- 
ination excited  Luther's  intensest  detestation ;  and  he  accordingly 
wrote  ninety-five  propositions,  and  nailed  them,  in  1517,  to  the  gates 
of  the  church,  in  which  he  denounced  the  traffic  in  indulgences, 
and  traced  the  doctrine  of  absolution  to  the  usurped  power  of  the 
pope.  He  denied  the  value  of  his  absolution,  and  maintained 
that  the  divine  favor  would  only  be  granted  on  the  condition  of 
repentance  and  faith. 

In  these  celebrated  propositions,  he  struck  at  the  root  of  scho- 
lastic absurdities,  and  also  of  papal  pretensions.  The  spirit 
which  they  breathed  was  bold,  intrepid,  and  magnanimous.  They 
electrified  Germany,  and  gave  a  shock  to  the  whole  papal  edifice. 
They  had  both  a  religious  and  a  political  bearing ;  religious,  in 
reference  to  the  grounds  of  justification,  and  political,  in  opening 
men's  eyes  to  the  unjust  and  ruinous  extortions  of  Rome. 

Among  those  who  perceived  with  great  clearness  the  political 
tendency  of  these  propositions,  and  rejoiced  in  it,  was  the  elector 
of  Saxony  himself,  the  most  powerful  prince  of  the  empire, 
who  had  long  been  vexed,  in  view  of  the  vast  sums  which  had 
been  drained  from  his  subjects.  He  also  lamented  the  corruptions 
of  the  church,  and  probably  sympathized  with  the  theological 
opinions  of  Luther.  He  accordingly  protected  the  bold  professor, 
although  he  did  not  openly  encourage  him,  or  form  an  alliance 
with  him.  He  let  things  take  their  course.  Well  did  Frederic 
deserve  the  epithet  of  Wise. 

There  was  another  great  man  who  rejoiced  in  the  appearance 
of  Luther's  theses  ;  and  this  was  Erasmus,  the  greatest  scholar  of 
his  age,  the  autocrat  of  letters,  and,  at  that  time,  living  in  Basle. 
He  was  born  in  Rotterdam,  in  1467,  of  poor  parents,  but  early 
attracted  notice  for  his  attainments,  and  early  emancipated  him- 
self from  the  trammels  of  scholasticism,  which  he  hated  and 
despised  as  cordially  as  Luther  himself.  He  also  attacked,  with 
elegant  sarcasm,  the  absurdities  of  his  age,  both  in  literature  and 
2 


14  ERASMUS  —  MELANCTHON.  [ciIAP.    11. 

morals.  He  denounced  the  sins  and  follies  of  the  monks,  aiul 
spoke  of  the  necessity  of  reform.  But  his  distinguishing  excel- 
lence was  his  literary  talent  and  taste.  He  was  a  great  Greek 
scholar,  and  published  a  critical  edition  of  tlic  Testament,  whiclj 
he  accompanied  with  a' Latin  translation.  In  this,  he  rendered 
great  service  to  the  reformers,  especially  to  Luther.  His  fasci- 
nating style  and  extensive  erudition  gave  him  great  literary  fame. 
But  he  was  timid,  conservative,  and  vain  ;  and  sought  to  be  pop- 
ular, except  among  the  monks,  whom  he  uniformly  ridiculed. 
One  doctor  hated  him  so  cordially,  that  he  had  his  picture  hung 
up  in  his  study,  that  he  might  spit  in  his  face  as  often  as  he 
pleased.  So  far  as  Luther  opposed  monkery  and  despotism,  his 
sympathies  were  with  him.  But  he  did  not  desire  a  radical 
reformation,  as  Luther  did,  and  always  shunned  danger  and 
obloquy.  He  dreaded  an  insurrection  among  the  people,  and 
any  thing  which  looked  either  revolutionary  or  fanatical.  Luther, 
therefore,  much  as  he  was  gratified  by  his  favor  at  first,  soon 
learned  to  distrust  him  ;  and  finally  these  two  great  men  were 
unfriendly  to  each  other. 

Melancthon  was  too  prominent  an  actor  in  the  great  drama 
about  to  be  performed,  to  be  omitted  in  this  sketch  of  great  men 
who  were  on  the  side  of  reform.  He  was  bom  in  1497,  and  was, 
therefore,  fourteen  years  younger  than  Luther.  He  was  educated 
under  the  auspices  of  the  celebrated  Greek  scholar  Reuchlin, 
who  was  also  a  relative.  At  twelve,  he  was  sent  to  the  university 
of  Heidelberg ;  at  fourteen,  was  made  bachelor  of  arts  ;  and  at 
seventeen,  doctor  of  philosophy. '  He  began  to  lecture  publicly 
at  the  age  of  seventeen ;  and,  for  his  extraordinary  attainments, 
was  invited  to  Wittemberg,  as  professor  of  ancient  languages,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-one.  He  arrived  there  in  1518,  and  immedi- 
ately fell  under  the  influence  of  Luther,  who,  however,  acknowl- 
edged his  classical  attainments.  He  was  considered  a  prodigy ; 
was  remarkably  young  looking,  and  so  boyish,  that  the  grave 
professors  conceived  but  little  hope  of  him  at  first.  But,  when  he 
delivered  his  inaugural  oration  in  Latin,  all  were  astonished ;  and 
their  prejudices  were  removed.  Luther  himself  was  enthusiastic 
in  his  praises,  and  a  friendship  commenced  between  them,  which 
was  never  weakened  by  a  quarrel.     The  mildness  and  gentle- 


CHAP.    II.]  MELANCTHON LEO    X.  15 

ness  of  Philip  Melancthon  strongly  contrasted  with  the  boldness, 
energy,  and  tumultuous  passions  of  Luther.  The  former  was  the 
more  learned  and  elegant ;  the  latter  was  the  superior  genius  —  a 
genius  for  commanding  men,  and  guiding  great  entei-prises. 

But  there  was  another  great  personage,  who  now  viewed  the 
movement  of  Luther  with  any  thing  but  indifference  ;  and  this  was 
Leo  X.,  the  reigning  pope  when  the  theses  were  published.  He 
belonged  to  the  illustrious  family  of  the  Medici,  and  was  chosen 
cardinal  at  the  age  of  thirteen.  He  was  the  most  elegant  and 
accomplished  of  all  the  popes,  patronized  art  and  literature,  and 
ornamented  his  capital  with  palaces,  churches,  and  statues.  But, 
with  his  sympathy  for  intellectual  excellence,  he  was  prodigal, 
luxurious,  and  worldly.  Indeed,  his  spirit  was  almost  infidel.  Ho 
was  more  ambitious  for  temporal  than  spiritual  power  ;  and,  when 
he  commenced  his  reign,  the  papal  possessions  were  more  exten- 
sive and  flourishing,  than  at  any  previous  period.  His  leading 
error  was,  his  recklessness  in  the  imposition  of  taxes,  even  on  the 
clergy  themselves,  by  which  he  lost  their  confidence  and  regard. 
With  a  very  fine  mind,  he  was,  nevertheless,  quite  unfitted  for  his 
station  and  his  times. 

Thus  far,  he  had  allowed  the  outcry  which  Luther  had  raised 
against  indulgences  to  take  its  course,  and  even  disregarded 
the  theses,  which  he  supposed  originated  in  a  monkish  squabble 
Butthe  Emperor  Maximilian  was  alarmed,  and  wrote  to  the  pope  an 
account  of  Luther's  differences  with  Tetzel.  Frederic  of  Saxony 
had  also  written  to  his  holiness,  to  palliate  the  conduct  of  Luther. 

When  such  powerful  princes  became  interested,  Leo  was 
startled.  He  summoned  Luther  to  Rome,  to  be  tried  by  Prierias. 
Luther,  not  daring  to  refuse,  and  not  willing  to  obey,  wrote  to  his 
friend  Spalatin  to  use  his  influence  with  the  elector  to  have  his 
cause  tried  in  Germany ;  and  the  pope,  willing  to  please  Frederic, 
appointed  De  Vio,  his  legate,  to  investigate  the  matter.  Luther 
accordingly  set  out  for  Augsburg,  in  obedience  to  the  summons  of 
De  Vio,  although  dissuaded  by  many  of  his  friends.  He  had 
several  interviews  with  the  legate,  by  whom  he  was  treated  with 
courtesy  and  urbanity,  and  by  whom  he  was  dissuaded  from  his 
present  courses.  But  all  the  persuasion  and  argument  of  the  car- 
dinal les^ate  were  without  effect  on  the  mind  of  Luther,  whose 


16  THE   LEIPSIC   DISPUTATION.  [cHAP.  II. 

convictions  were  not  to  be  put  aside  by  either  kindness  or  craft. 
De  Vio  had  hoped  that  he  could  induce  LutKer  to  retract ;  but, 
when  he  found  him  fixed  in  his  resolutions,  he  changed  his  tone, 
and  resorted  to  threats.  Luther  then  made  up  his  mind  to  leave 
Augsburg;  and,  appealing  to  the  decision  of  the  sovereign  pontiff, 
whose  authority  he  had  not  yet  openly  defied,  he  fled  from  the 
.city,  and  returned  to  Wittemberg,  being  countenanced  by  the 
elector,  to  whom  he  also  addressed  letters.  His  life  was  safe  so 
long  as  Frederic  protected  him. 

The  next  event  in  the  progress  of  Luther  was  the  Leipsic  dis- 
putation, June,  1519.  The  pope  seemed  willing  to  make  one  more 
effort  to  convince  Luther,  before  he  proceeded  to  more  violent 
courses.  There  was  then  at  his  court  a  noble  Saxon,  Charles 
Miltitz,  whose  talents  and  insinuating  address  secured  him  the  high 
office  of  chamberlain  to  the  pope.  He  accordingly  was  sent  into 
his  native  country,  with  the  dignity  of  legate,  to  remove  the  diffi- 
culties which  De  Vio  had  attempted.  He  tried  persuasion  and 
flattery,  and  treated  the  reformer  with  great  civility.  But  Luther 
still  persisted  in  refusing  to  retract,  and  the  matter  was  referred  to 
the  elector  archbishop  of  Treves. 

While  the  controversy  was  pending.  Dr.  Eck,  of  the  univer- 
sity of  Ingolstadt,  a  man  of  great  scholastic  ingenuity  and  attain- 
ment, and  proud  of  the  prizes  of  eight  universities,  challenged  the 
professors  of  Wittemberg  to  a  public  controversy  on  Grace  and 
Free  Will.  He  regarded  a  disputation  with  the  eye  of  a  practised 
fencer,  and  sought  the  means  of  extending  his  fame  over  North 
Germany.  Leipsic  was  the  appointed  arena,  and  thither  resorted 
the  noble  and  the  learned  of  Saxony.  Eck  was  among  the 
first  who  arrived,  and,  soon  after,  came  Carlstadt,  Luther,  and 
Melancthon. 

The  place  for  the  combat  was  a  hall  in  the  royal  palace  of 
Duke  George,  cousin  to  the  elector  Frederic,  which  was  ar- 
ranged and  ornamented  with  great  care,  and  whic^  was  honored 
by  the  presence  of  the  duke,  and  of  the  chief  divines  and  nobles  of 
Northern  Germany.  Carlstadt  opened  the  debate,  which  did  not 
excite  much  interest  until  Luther's  turn  came,  the  antagonist  whom 
Eck  was  most  desirous  to  meet,  and  whose  rising  fame  he  hoped 
lo  crush  bj^a  brilliant  victory.     Ranke  thus  describes  Luther's 


CHAP.  11. J         PRINCIPLES    OF   THE    LEIPSIC    DISPUIATION.  17 

person  at  this  time.  "  He  was  of  the  middle  size,  and  so  thin  as 
to  be  mere  skin  and  bone.  He  possessed  neither  the  thundering 
voice,  nor  the  ready  memory,  nor  the  skill  and  dexterity,  of  his 
distinguished  antagonist.  But  he  stood  in  the  prime  of  manhood 
and  in  the  fulness  of  his  strength.  His  voice  was  melodious  and 
clear ;  he  was  perfectly  versed  in  the  Bible,  and  its  aptest  sen- 
tences presented  themselves  unbidden  to  his  mind  ;  above  all,  he 
inspired  an  irresistible  conviction  that  he  sought  the  truth.  He 
was  always  cheerful  at  home,  and  a  joyous,  jocose  companion  at 
table  ;  he  even,  on  this  grave  occasion,  ascended  the  platform  with 
a  nosegay  in  his  hand  ;  but,  when  there,  he  displayed  the  intrepid 
and  self- forgetting  earnestness  arising  from  the  depth  of  a  convic- 
tion, until  now,  unfathomed,  even  by  himself.  He  drew  forth  new 
thoughts,  and  placed  them  in  the  fire  of  the  battle,  with  a  determina- 
tion that  knew  no  fear  and  no  personal  regard.  His  features  bore 
the  traces  of  the  storms  that  had  passed  over  his  soul,  and  of  the 
courage  with  which  he  was  prepared  to  encounter  those  which  yet 
awaited  him.  His  whole  aspect  evinced  profoui;id  thought,  joyous- 
ness  of  temper,  and  confidence  in  the  future.  The  battle  imme- 
diately commenced  on  the  question  of  the  authority  of  the  papacy, 
which,  at  once  intelligible  and  important,  riveted  universal  atten- 
tion." Eck,  with  great  erudition  and  masterly  logic,  supported 
the  claim  of  the  pope,  from  the  decrees  of  councils,  the  opinions 
of  scholastics,  and  even  from  those  celebrated  words  of  Christ  to 
Peter  —  "Thou  art  Peter,  and  on  this  rock  will  I  build  my 
church,"  &c.  Luther  took  higher  and  bolder  ground,  denied  the 
infallibility  of  councils,  and  appealed  to  Scripture  as  the  ultimate 
authority.  Eck  had  probably  the  advantage  over  his  antagonist, 
so  far  as  dialectics  were  concerned,  being  a  more  able  disputant ; 
but  Luther  set  at  defiance  mere  scholastic  logic,  and  appealed  to 
an  authority  which  dialectics  could  not  reach.  The  victory  was 
claimed  by  both  parties ;  but  the  result  was,  that  Luther  no  longer 
acknowledged  the  authority  of  the  Roman  church,  and  acknowl- 
edged none  but  the  Scriptures. 

The  Leipsic  disputation  was  the  grand  intellectual  contest  of  the 
Reformation,  and  developed  its  great  idea  —  the  only  great  prin- 
ciple, around  which  all  sects  and  parties  among  the  Protestants 
rally.     This  is  the  idea,  that  the  Scriptures  are  the  only  ultimate 
2*  C 


•."te^  !-T'\# 


18  THE   RIGHTS    OF   PRIVATE   JUDGMENT.  [cHAP.  11. 

grounds  of  authority  in  religion,  and  that,  moreover,  every  man 
has  a  right  to  interpret  them  for  himself  The  rights  of  private 
judgment  —  that  religion  is  a  matter  between  the  individual  soul 
and  God,  and  that  every  man  is  answerable  to  his  own  conscience 
alone  how  he  interprets  Scripture  —  these  constitute  the  great 
Protestant  platform.  Different  sects  have  different  views  respect- 
ing justification,  but  all  profess  to  trace  them  to  the  Scriptures. 
Luther's  views  were  similar  to  those  of  St.  Augustine  —  that  "  man 
could  be  justified  by  faith  alone,"  which  was  his  great  theological 
doctrine  —  a  doctrine  adopted  by  many  who  never  left  the  com- 
munion of  the  Church  of  Rome,  before  and  since  his  day,  and  a 
doctrine  which  characterized  the  early  reformers,  Zwingle,  Cal- 
vin, Knox,  Cranmer,  and  the  Puritans  generally.  It  is  as  absurd 
to  say  that  Luther's  animating  principle  in  religion  was  not  this 
doctrine,  as  it  is  unphilosophical  to  make  the  reformation  consist 
merely  in  its  recognition.  After  Luther's  convictions  were  settled 
on  this  point,  and  he  had  generally  and  openly  declared  them,  the 
main  contest  of  hjs  life  was  against  the  papacy,  which  he  viewed 
as  the  predicted  Antichrist — the  "  scarlet  mother  of  abominations." 
It  is  not  the  object  of  the  writer  of  this  History  to  defend  or  oppose 
Luther's  views,  or  argue  any  cause  whatever,  but  simply  to  place 
facts  in  their  true  light,  which  is,  to  state  them  candidly. 

Although  the  Leipsic  controversy  brought  out  the  great  principle 
of  the  Reformation,  Luther's  views,  both  respecting  the  true  doc- 
trines and  polity  of  the  church,  were  not,  on  all  points,  yet  devel- 
oped, and  were  only  gradually  unfolded,  as  he  gained  knowledge 
and  light.  It  was  no  trifling  matter,  even  to  deny  the  supremacy 
of  the  Roman  church  in  matters  of  faith.  He  was  thus  placed  in 
the  position  of  Huss  and  Jerome,  and  other  reformers,  who  had 
been  destroyed,  with  scarcely  an  exception.  He  thus  was  brought 
in  direct  conflict  with  the  pope,  with  the  great  dignitaries  of  the 
church,  with  the  universities,  and  with  the  whole  scholastic  litera- 
ture. He  had  to  expect  the  violent  opposition  and  vengeance  of 
the  pope,  of  the  monks,  of  the  great  ecclesiastical  dignitaries,  of 
the  most  distinguished  scholars,  and  of  those  secular  princes  who 
were  friendly  to  Rome.  He  had  none  to  protect  him  but  a  prince 
of  the  empire,  powerful,  indeed,  and  wise,  but  old  and  wavering. 
There  were  but  few  to  uphold  and  defend  him— the  satirical 


CHAP.  II.]  Luther's  elements  of  greatness.  19 

Erasmus,  who  was  called  a  second  Lucian,  the  feeble  Staupitz, 
the  fanatiail  Carlstadt,  and  the  inexperienced  Melancthon.  The 
worldly-minded,  the  learned,  the  powerful,  and  the  conservative 
classes  were  his  natural  enemies.  But  he  had  reason  and  Scripture 
on  his  side,  and  he  appealed  to  their  great  and  final  verdict.  He 
had  singular  faith  in  the  power  of  truth,  and  the  gracious  protec- 
tion of  God  Almighty.  Reposing  on  the  greatness  of  his  cause, 
and  the  providence  of  the  omnipotent  Protector,  he  was  ready  tO 
defy  all  the  arts,  and  theories,  and  malice  of  man.  His  weapon 
was  truth.  For  truth  he  fought,  and  for  truth  he  was  ready  to  die. 
The  sophistries  of  the  schools  he  despised ;  they  had  distorted  and 
mystified  the  truth.  And  he  knew  them  well,  for  he  had  been 
trained  in  the  severest  dialectics  of  his  time,  and,  though  he  de- 
spised them,  he  knew  how  to  use  them.  The  simple  word  of  God, 
directed  to  the  reason  and  conscience  of  men,  seemed  alone  worthy 
of  his  regard. 

But,  beside  Scripture  and  unperverted  reason,  he  had  another 
element  of  power.  He  was  master  of  the  sympathies  and  pas- 
sions of  the  people.  His  father  was  a  toiling  miner.  His  grand- 
father was  a  peasant.  He  had  been  trained  to  penury ;  he  had 
associated  with  the  poor  ;  he  was  a  man  of  the  people  ;  he  was 
their  natural  friend.  He  saw  and  lamented  their  burdens,  and 
rose  up  for  their  deliverance.  And  the  people  distinguished  their 
true  friend,  from  their  false  friends.  They  saw  the  sincerity, 
earnestness,  and  labors  of  the  new  apostle  of  liberty,  and  believed 
in  him,  and  made  an  idol  of  him.  They  would  protect  him,  and 
honor  him,  and  obey  him,  and  believe  what  he  taught  them,  for  he 
was  their  friend,  whom  God  had  raised  up  to  take  off"  their  bur- 
dens, and  point  a  way  to  heaven,  without  the  intercession  of 
priests,  or  indulgences,  or  penance.  Their  friend  was  to  expose 
the  corruptions  of  the  clergy,  and  to  give  battle  to  the  great  arch 
enemy  who  built  St.  Peter's  Church  from  their  hard-earned  pit- 
tances. A  spirit  from  heaven  enlightened  those  to  whom  Luther 
preached,  and  they  rallied  around  his  standard,  and  swore  never 
to  separate,  until  the  great  enemies  of  the  poor  and  the  oppressed 
were  rendered  powerless.  And  their  sympathies  were  needed,  and 
best  services,  too  ;  for  (he  great  man  of  the  age  —  the  incarnated 
spirit  of  liberty  —  was  in  danger. 


20  EXCOMMUNICATION    OF    LUTHER.  [cHAP.    II. 

The  pope,  hitherto  mild,  persuasive,  and  undecided,  now  arose  in 
the  majesty  of  his  mighty  name,  and,  as  the  successor  of  St.  Peter, 
hurled  tliose  weapons  which  had  been  thunderbolts  in  the  hands 
of  the  Gregories  and  the  Innocents.  From  his  papal  throne,  and 
with  all  the  solemnity  of  God's  appointed  vicegerent,  he  de- 
nounced tlie  daring  monk  of  Wittemberg,  and  sentenced  him 
to  the  wrath  of  God,  and  to  the  penalty  of  eternal  fire.  Luther 
was  excommunicated  by  a  papal  bull,  and  his  writings  were 
condemned  as  heretical  and  damnable. 

This  was  a  dreadful  sentence.  Few  had  ever  resisted  it  suc- 
cessfully, even  monarchs  themselves.  Excommunication  was 
still  a  fearful  weapon,  and  used  only  in  desperate  circumstances. 
It  was  used  only  as  the  last  resort;  for  frequency  would  de- 
stroy its  power.  In  the  middle  ages,  this  weapon  was  omnipo- 
tent ;  and  the  middle  ages  had  but  just  passed  away.-  No  one 
could  stand  before  that  awful  anathema  which  consigned  him  to 
the  wrath  of  incensed  and  implacable  Deity.  Much  as  some  pro- 
fessed to  despise  the  sentence,  still,  when  inflicted,  it  could  not 
be  borne,  especially  if  accompanied  with  an  interdict.  Children 
were  left  unburied.  The  churches  were  closed.  The  rites  of 
religion  were  suspended.  A  funereal  shade  was  spread  over 
society.  The  fears  of  hell  haunted  every  imagination.  No 
reason  was  strong  enough  to  resist  the  sentence.  No  arm  was 
sufficiently  powerful  to  remove  the  curse.  It  hung  over  a  guilty 
land.  It  doomed  the  unhappy  offender,  who  was  cursed,  wherever 
he  went,  and  in  whatever  work  he  was  engaged. 

But  Luther  was  strong  enough  to  resist  it,  and  to  despise  it. 
He  saw  it  was  an  imposition,  which  only  barbarous  and  ignorant 
ages  had  permitted.  Moreover,  he  perceived  that  there  was  now 
no  alternative  but  victory  or  death ;  that,  in  the  great  contest  in 
which  he  was  engaged,  retreat  was  infamy.  Nor  did  he  wish  to 
retreat.  He  was  fighting  for  oppressed  humanity,  and  death 
even,  in  such  a  cause,  was  glory.  He  understood  fully  the  nature 
and  the  consequence  of  the  struggle.  He  perceived  the  greatness 
of  the  odds  against  him,  in  a  worldly  point  of  view.  No  man 
but  a  Luther  would  have  been  equal  to  it ;  no  man,  before  him, 
ever  had  successfully  rebelled  against  the  pope.  It  is  only  in  view 
of  this  circumstance,  that  his  intrepidity  can  be  appreciated. 


CHAP.    II.]  THE    DIET    OF    WORBIS.  21 

What  did  the  Saxon  monk  do,  when  the  papal  bull  was  pub- 
lished ?  He  assembled  the  professors  and  students  of  the  univer- 
sity, declared  his  solemn  protest  against  the  pope  as  Antichrist, 
and  marched  in  procession  to  the  gates  of  the  Castle  of  Wittem- 
berg,  and  there  made  a  bonfire,  and  cast  into  it  the  bull  which 
condemned  him,  the  canon  law,  and  some  writings  of  the  school- 
men, and  then  reentered  the  city,  breathing  defiance  against  the 
whole  power  of  the  pope,  glowing  in  the  consciousness  that  the 
battle  had  commenced,  to  last  as  long  as  life,  and  perfectly  secure 
that  the  victory  would  finally  be  on  the  side  of  truth.  This  was 
in  1520,  on  the  10th  of  December. 

The  attention  of  the  whole  nation  was  necessarily  drawn  to  this 
open  resistance ;  and  the  sympathy  of  the  free  thinking,  the 
earnest,  and  the  religious,  was  expressed  for  him.  Never  was 
popular  interest  more  absorbing,  in  respect  to  his  opinions,  his 
fortunes,  and  his  fate.  The  spirit  of  innovation  became  conta- 
gious, and  pervaded  the  Grerman  mind.  It  demanded  the  serious 
attention  of  the  emperor  himself. 

A  great  Diet  of  the  empire  was  convened  at  Worms,  and 
thither  Luther  was  summoned  by  the  temporal  power.  He  had 
a  safe-conduct,  which  even  so  powerful  a  prince  as  Charles  V. 
durst  not  violate.  In  April,  1521,  the  reformer  appeared  before 
the  collected  dignitaries  of  the  German  empire,  both  spiritual  and 
temporal,  and  was  called  upon  to  recant  his  opinions  as  heretical  in 
the  eyes  of  the  church,  and  dangerous  to  the  peace  of  the  empire. 
Before  the  most  august  assembly  in  the  world,  without  a  trace 
of  embarrassment,  he  made  his  defence,  and  refused  to  recant. 
"  Unless,"  said  he, "  my  errors  can  be  demonstrated  by  texts  from 
Scripture,  I  will  not  and  cannot  recant ;  for  it  is  not  safe  for  a 
man  to  go  against  his  conscience.  Here  I  am.  I  can  do  no 
otherwise.     God  help  me  !     Amen." 

This  declaration  satisfied  his  friends,  though  it  did  not  satisfy  the 
members  of  the  diet.  Luther  was  permitted  to  retire.  He  had 
gained  the  confidence  of  the  nation.  From  that  time,  he  was  its 
idol,  and  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  greatest  insurrection  of 
human  intelligence  which  modern  times  have  seen.  The  great 
principles  of  the  reformation  were  declared.  The  great  hero  of 
the  Reformation  had  planted  his  cause  upon  a  rock.     And  yet  his 


23  IMPRISONMENT   AT   WARTBURO.  [cHAV.  I  . 

labors  had  but  just  commenced.  Henceforth,  his  life  was  toil  and 
vexation.  New  difficulties  continually  arose.  New  questions 
had  to  be  continually  settled.  Luther,  by  his  letters,  was  every 
where.  He  commenced  the  translation  of  the  Scriptures ;  he  wrote 
endless  controversial  tracts  ;  his  correspondence  was  unparalleled ; 
his  efforts  as  a  preacher  were  prodigious.  But  he  was  equal  to  it 
all ;  was  wonderfully  adapted  to  his  age  and  circumstances. 

About  this  time  commenced  his  voluntary  imprisonment  at 
Wartburg,  among  the  Thuringian  forests  :  he  being  probably  con- 
ducted thither  by  the  orders  of  the  elector  of  Saxony.  Here  he 
was  out  of  sight,  but  not  out  of  mind  ;  and  his  retirement,  under 
the  disguise  of  a  knight,  gave  him  leisure  for  literary  labor.  In 
the  old  Castle  of  Wartburg,  a  great  part  of  the  Scriptures  was 
translated  into  that  beautiful  and  simple  version,  which  is  still  the 
standard  of  the  German  language. 

While  Luther  was  translating  the  Scriptures,  in  his  retreat, 
Wittemberg  was  the  scene  of  new  commotions,  pregnant  with 
great  results.  There  were  many  of  the  more  zealous  converts  to 
the  reformed  doctrines,  headed  by  Carlstadt,  dean  of  the  faculty 
of  theology,  who  were  not  content  with  the  progress  which  had 
been  made,  and  who  desired  more  sweeping  and  radical  changes. 
Such  a  party  ever  exists  in  all  reforms ;  for  there  are  some  per- 
sons who  are  always  inclined  to  ultra  and  extravagant  courses. 
Carlstadt  was  a  type  of  such  men.  He  was  learned,  sincere,  and 
amiable,  but  did  not  know  where  to  stop  ;  and  the  experiment  was 
now  to  be  tried,  whether  it  was  possible  to  introduce  a  necessary- 
reform,  without  annihilating  also  all  the  results  of  the  labors  of 
preceding  generations.  Carlstadt's  mind  was  not  well  balanced ; 
and  to  him  the  reformation  was  only  a  half  measure,  and  a  use- 
less movement,  unless  all  the  external  observances  of  religion  and 
the  whole  economy  of  the  church  were  destroyed.  He  abolished, 
or  desired  to  abolish,  all  priestly  garments,  all  fasts  and  holydays, 
all  pictures  in  the  churches,  and  all  emblematical  ceremonies  of 
every  kind.  He  insisted  upon  closing  all  places  of  public  amuse- 
ment, the  abolition  of  all  religious  communities,  and  the  division  of 
their  possessions  among  the  poor.  He  maintained  that  there  was 
no  need  of  learning,  or  of  academic  studies,  and  even  went  into 
the  houses  of  the  peasantry  to  seek  explanation  of  difficult  passages 


CHAP.    II.]  CARLSTADT.  23 

of  Scripture.  For  such  innovations,  the  age  was  certainly  not 
l)repared,  even  had  they  been  founded  on  reason  ;  and  the  conser- 
vative mind  of  Luther  was  shocked  at  extravagances  which  served 
to  disgust  the  whole  Christian  world,  and  jeopardize  the  cause  in 
which  he  had  embarked.  So,  against  the  entreaties  of  the  elec- 
tor, and  in  spite  of  the  ban  of  the  empire,  he  returned  to  Wittem- 
berg,  a  small  city,  it  was  true,  but  a  place  to  which  had  congre- 
gated the  flower  of  the  German  youth.  He  resolved  to  oppose 
the  movements  of  Carlstadt,  even  though  opposition  should  de- 
stroy his  influence.  Especially  did  he  declare  against  all  violent 
measures  to  which  the  ultra  reformers  were  inclined,  knowing  full 
well,  that,  if  his  cause  were  sullied  with  violence  or  fanaticism,  all 
Christendom  would  unite  to  suppress  it.  His  sermons  are,  at  this 
time,  (1522,)  pervaded  with  a  profound  and  conservative  spirit,  and 
also  a  spirit  of  conciliation  and  love,  calculated  to  calm  passions, 
and  carry  conviction  to  excited  minds.  His  moderate  counsels 
prevailed,  the  tumults  were  hushed,  and  order  was  restored. 
Carlstadt  was  silenced  for  a  time ;  but  a  mind  like  his  could  not 
rest,  especially  on  points  where  he  had  truth  on  his  side.  One  of 
these  was,  in  reference  to  the  presence  of  Christ's  body  in  the 
Eucharist,  which  Carlstadt  totally  denied.  He  taught  "  that  the 
Lord's  supper  was  purely  symbolic,  and  was  simply  a  pledge  to 
believers  of  their  redemption."  But  Luther  saw,  in  every  attempt 
to  exhibit  the  symbolical  import  of  the  supper,  only  the  danger  of 
weakening  the  authority  of  Scripture,  which  was  his  stronghold, 
and  became  exceedingly  tenacious  on  that  point;  carried  Ms 
views  to  the  extreme  of  literal  interpretation,  and  never  could 
emancipate  himself  from  the  doctrines  of  Rome  respecting  the 
eucharist.  Carlstadt,  finding  himself  persecuted  at  Wittemberg, 
left  the  city,  and,  as  soon  as  he  was  released  from  the  presence 
of  Luther,  began  to  revive  his  former  zeal  against  images  also, 
and  was  the  promoter  of  great  disturbances.  He  at  last  sought 
refuge  in  Strasburg,  and  sacrificed  fame,  and  friends,  and  bread  to 
his  honest  convictions. 

But,  nevertheless,  the  views  of  Carlstadt  found  advocates,  and 
his  extravagances  were  copied  with  still  greater  zeal.  Many  pre- 
tended to  special  divine  illumination  —  the  great  central  principle 
^f  all  fanaticism.     Among  these  was  Thomas  Miinzer,  of  Zwiok- 


W  THOMAS    MUNZER.  [CHAP.    II. 

au,  mystical,  ignorant,  and  conceited,  but  sincere  and  simple- 
hearted.  "  Luther,"  said  he,  "  has  liberated  men's  consciences 
from  the  papal  yoke,  but  has  not  led  them  in  spirit  towards  God." 
Considering  himself  as  called  upon  by  a  special  revelation  to 
bring  men  into  greater  spiritual  liberty,  he  went  about  inflaming 
the  popular  mind,  and  raising  discontents,  and  even  inciting  to  a 
revolt.  Religion  now  became  mingled  with  politics,  and  social 
and  political  evils  were  violently  resisted,  under  the  garb  of  reli- 
gion. An  insurrection  at  last  arose  in  the  districts  of  the  Black 
Forest,  (1524,)  near  the  sources  of  the  Danube,  and  spread  from 
Suabia  to  the  Rhine  provinces,  until  it  became  exceedingly  for- 
midable. Then  commenced  what  is  called  the  "  peasants'  war," 
which  was  only  ended  by  the  slaughter  of  fifty  thousand  people.  As 
the  causes  of  this  war,  after  all,  were  chiefly  political,  the  details 
belong  to  our  chapter  on  political  history.  For  this  insurrection 
of  the  peasantry,  however,  Luther  expressed  great  detestation ; 
although  he  availed  himself  of  it  to  lecture  the  princes  of  Ger- 
many on  their  duties  as  civil  rulers. 

The  peasant  war  was  scarcely  ended,  when  Luther  married 
Catharine  Bora ;  and,  as  she  was  a  nun,  and  he  was  a  monk,  the 
marriage  gave  universal  scandal.  But  this  marriage,  which  proved 
happy,  was  the  signal  of  new  reforms.  Luther  now  emancipated 
himself  from  his  monastic  fetters,  and  lifted  up  his  voice  against 
the  whole  monastic  system.  Eight  years  had  elapsed  since  he 
preached  against  indulgences.  During  these  eight  years,  refornr 
had  been  gradual,  and  had  now  advanced  to  the  extreme  limit  i*. 
ever  reached  during  the  life  of  the  reformer. 

But,  in  another  quarter,  it  sprang  up  with  new  force,  and  was 
carried  to  an  extent  not  favored  in  Germany.  It  was  in  Switzer- 
land that  the  greatest  approximation  was  made  to  the  forms,  if 
not  to  the  spirit,  of  primitive  Christianity. 

The  great  hero  of  this  Swiss  movement  was  Ulric  Zwingle,  the 
most  interesting  of  all  the  reformers.  He  was  bom  in  1484,  and 
educated  amid  the  mountains  of  his  picturesque  country,  and,  like 
Erasmus,  Reuchlin,  Luther,  and  Melancthon,  had  no  aristocratic 
claims,  except  to  the  nobility  of  nature.  But,  though  poor,  he 
was  well  educated,  and  was  a  master  of  the  scholastic  philosophy, 
and  of  all  the  learning  of  his  age.     Like  Luther,  he  was  passion- 


CHAP.    II.]  ULRIC    ZWINGLE.  25 

ately  fond  of  music,  and  played  the  lute,  the  harp,  the  violin,  the 
flute,  and  the  dulcimer.  There  was  no  more  joyous  spirit  in  alf 
Switzerland  than  his.  Every  one  loved  his  society,  and  honored  his 
attainments,  and  admired  his  genius.  Like  Luther  and  Erasmus, 
he  was  disgusted  with  scholasticism,  and  regretted  the  time  he  had 
devoted  to  its  study.  He  was  ordained  in  1506,  by  the  bishop 
of  Constance,  and  was  settled  in  Zurich  in  1518.  At  first,  his 
life  did  not  differ  from  that  which  the  clergy  generally  led,  being 
one  of  dissipation  and  pleasure.  But  he  was  studious,  and  be- 
came well  acquainted  with  the  fathers,  and  with  the  original 
Greek.  Only  gradually  did  light  dawn  upon  him,  and  this  in 
consequence  of  his  study  of  the  Scriptures,  not  in  consequence 
of  Luther's  preaching.  He  had  no  tempests  to  withstand,  such  as 
shook  the  soul  of  the  Saxon  monk.  Nor  had  he  ever  devoted 
himself  with  the  same  ardor  to  the  established  church.  Nor  was 
he  so  much  interested  on  doctrinal  points  of  faith.  But  he  saw 
with  equal  clearness  the  corruptions  of  the  church,  and  preached 
with  equal  zeal  against  indulgences  and  the  usurpations  of  the 
popes.  The  reformation  of  morals  was  the  great  aim  of  his  life. 
His  preaching  was  practical  and  simple,  and  his  doctrine  was, 
that  "  religion  consisted  in  trust  in  God,  loving  God,  and  inno- 
cence of  life."  Moreover,  he  took  a  deep  interest  in  *the  politi- 
cal relations  of  his  country,  and  was  an  enthusiast  in  liberty  as 
well  as  in  religion.  To  him  the  town  of  Zurich  was  indebted 
for  its  emancipation  from  the  episcopal  government  of  Constance, 
and  also  for  a  reformation  in  all  the  externals  of  the  church.  He 
inspired  the  citizens  with  that  positive  spirit  of  Protestantism, 
which  afterwards  characterized  Calvin  and  the  Puritans.  He  was 
too  radical  a  reformer  to  suit  Luther,  although  he  sympathized 
with  most  of  his  theological  opinions. 

On  one  point,  however,  they  differed ;  and  this  difference  led  to 
an  acrimonious  contest,  quite  disgraceful  to  Luther,  and  the  greatest 
blot  on  his  character,  inasmuch  as  it  developed,  to  an  extraordinary 
degree,  both  obstinacy  and  dogmatism,  and  showed  that  he  could 
not  bear  contradiction  or  opposition.  The  quarrel  arose  from  a 
difference  of  views  respecting  the  Lord's  supper,  Luther  main 
taining  not  exactly  the  Roman  Catholic  doctrine  of  transubstantia- 
tion,  but  something  approximating  to  it —  even  the  omnipresence  of 
3 


26  CONTROVERSY   BETWEEN    LUTHER   AND   ZWINGLE.      [CHAP.  II. 

Christ's  body  in  the  sacred  elements.  He  relinquished  the  doc- 
trine of  the  continually  repeated  miracle,  but  substituted  a  uni- 
versal miracle,  wrought  once  for  all.  In  his  tenacity  to  the  opin 
ions  of  the  schoolmen  on  tliis  point,  we  see  his  conservative  spirit ; 
for  he  did  not  deny  tradition,  unless  it  was  expressly  contradicted 
by  Scripture.  He  would  have  maintained  the  whole  structure  of 
the  Latin  church,  had  it  not  been  disfigured  by  modern  additions, 
plainly  at  variance  with  the  Scriptures ;  and  so  profoundly  was  he 
attached  to  the  traditions  of  the  church,  and  to  the  whole  church 
establishment,  that  he  only  emancipated  himself  by  violent  inward 
storms.  But  Zwingle  had  not  this  lively  conception  of  the  uni- 
versal church,  and  was  more  radical  in  his  sympathies.  He  took 
Carlstadt's  view  of  the  supper,  that  it  was  merely  symbolic.  Still 
lie  shrunk  from  a  rupture  with  Luther,  which,  however,  was  una- 
voidable, considering  Luther's  views  of  the  subject  and  his  cast  of 
mind.  Luther  rejected  all  offers  of  conciliation,  and,  as  he  con- 
sidered it  Essential  to  salvation  to  believe  in  the  real  presence  of 
Christ  in  the  sacrament,  he  refused  to  acknowledge  Zwingle  as  a 
brother. 

Zwingle,  nevertheless,  continued  his  reforms,  and  sought  to 
restore,  what  he  conceived  to  be,  the  earliest  forms  in  which 
Christianity  had  manifested  itself.  He  designed  to  restore  a  wor- 
ship purely  spiritual.  He  rejected  all  rites  and  ceremonies,  not 
expressly  enjoined  in  the  Bible.  Luther  insisted  in  retaining  all 
that  was  not  expressly  forbidden.  And  this  was  the  main  point  of 
distinction  between  them  and  their  adherents. 

But  Zwingle  contemplated  political,  as  well  as  religious,  changes, 
and,  as  early  as  1527,  two  years  before  his  conference  with  Lu- 
ther at  Marburg,  had  projected  a  league  of  all  the  reformers 
against  the  political  authorities  which  opposed  their  progress.  He 
combated  the  abuses  of  the  state,  as  well  as  of  the  church.  This 
opposition  created  great  enemies  against  him  among  the  cantons, 
with  their  different  governments  and  alliances.  He  also  secured 
enthusiastic  friends,  and,  in  all  the  cantons,  there  was  a  strong 
democratic  party  opposed  .to  the  existing  oligarchies,  which  party, 
in  Berne  and  Basle,  St.  Gall,  Zurich,  Appenzell,  Schaffhausen,  and 
Glarus,  obtained  the  ascendency.  This  led  to  tumults  and  violence, 
and  finally  to  civil  war  between  the  different  cantons,  those  which 


CHAP.  II.]  DIET    OF    AUGSBURG.  27 

adhered  to  the  old  faith  being  assisted  by  Austria.  Lucerne, 
Uri,  Schwytz,  Zug,  Unterwalden  took  the  lead  against  the  re- 
formed cantons,  the  foremost  of  which  was  Zurich,  where  Zwingle 
lived.  Zurich  was  attacked.  Zwingle,  from  impulses  of  patriot- 
ism and  courage,  issued  forth  from  his  house,  and  joined  the 
standard  of  his  countrymen,  not  as  a  chaplain,  but  as  an  armed 
warrior.  This  was  his  mistake.  "  They  who  take  the  sword  shall 
perish  with  the  sword."  The  intrepid  and  enlightened  reformer 
was  slain  in  1531,  and,  with  his  death,  expired  the  hopes  of  his 
party.  The  restoration  of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  immedi- 
ately commenced  in  Switzerland. 

Luther,  more  \yise  than  Zwingle,  inasmuch  as  he  abstained 
from  politics,  continued  his  labors  in  Germany.  And  they  were 
immense.  The  burdens  of  his  country  rested  on  his  shoulders. 
He  was  the  dictator  of  the  reformed  party,  and  his  word  was 
received  as  law.  Moreover,  the  party  continually  increased,  and, 
from  the  support  it  received  from  some  of  the  most  powerful  of 
the  German  princes,  it  became  formidable,  even  in  a  political 
point  of  view.  Nearly  one  half  of  Germany  embraced  the 
reformed  faith.  '   .  .       ' " 

The  illustrious  Charles  V.  had  now,  for  some  time,  been  em- 
peror, and,  in  the  prosecution  of  his  conquests,  found  it  necessary 
to  secure  the  support  of  united  Germany,  especially  since  Ger- 
many was  now  invaded  by  the  Turks.  In  order  to  secure  this  sup- 
port, he  found  it  necessary  to  make  concessions  in  religion  to  his 
Protestant  subjects.  At  the  diet  of  Augsburg,  (1530,)  where  there 
was  the  most  brilliant  assemblage  of  princes  which  had  been  for 
a  long  time  seen  in  Germany,  the  celebrated  confession  of  the 
faith  of  the  Protestants  was  read.  It  was  written  by  Melancthon, 
in  both  Latin  and  German,  on  the  basis  of  the  articles  of  Torgau, 
which  Luther  had  prepared.  The  style  was  Melancthon's ;  the 
matter  was  Luther's.  It  was  comprised  in  twenty-eight  articles, 
of  which  twenty-one  pertained  to  the  faith  of  the  Protestants  — 
the  name  they  assumed  at  the  second  diet  of  Spires,  in  1529  —  and 
the  remaining  seven  recounted  the  errors  and  abuses  of  Rome. 
It  was  subscribed  by  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  the  Marquis  of  Bran- 
ienburg,  the  Duke  of  Lunenburg,  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  the 


28  LEAGUE    OF    SMALCALDE.  [cHAP.  II. 

Prince  of  Anhalt,  and  the  deputies  of  the  innperial  cities  Nurem- 
berg and  Reutlingen.  But  the  Catholics  had  the  ascendency  in 
the  diet,  and  the  "  Confession  of  Augsburg "  was  condemned. 
But  the  emperor  did  not  venture  on  any  decisive  measures  for  the 
extirpation  of  the  "  heresy."  He  threatened  and  published  edicts, 
but  his  menaces  had  but  little  force.  Nevertheless,  the  Protestant 
princes  assembled,  first  at  Smalcalde,  and  afterwards  at  Frankfort, 
for  an  alliance  of  mutual  defence, — the  first  effective  union  of 
free  princes  and  states  against  their  oppressors  in  modem  Europe, 
— and  laid  the  foundation  of  liberty  of  conscience.  Hostilities,  how- 
ever, did  not  commence,  since  the  emperor  was  desirous  of  uniting 
Germany  against  the  Turks  ;  and  he  therefore  recalled  his  edicts 
of  Worms  and  Augsburg  against  the  Protestants,  and  made  im- 
portant concessions,  and  promised  them  undisturbed  enjoyment  of 
their  religion.  This  was  a  great  triumph  to  the  Protestants,  and 
as  great  a  shock  to  the  Papal  power. 

The  Confession  of  Augsburg  and  the  League  of  Smalcalde  form 
an  important  era  of  Protestantism,  since,  by  these,  the  reformed 
faith  received  its  definite  form,  and  was  moreover  guaranteed. 
The  work  for  which  Luther  had  been  raised  up  was  now,  in  the 
main,  accomplished.  His  great  message  had  been  delivered  and 
heard. 

After  the  confirmation  of  his  cause,  his  life  was  perplexed  and 
anxious.  He  had  not  anticipated  those  civil  commotions  which  he 
now  saw,  sooner  or  later,  were  inevitable.  With  the  increase  of 
his  party  was  the  decline  of  spirituality.  Political  considerations, 
also,  with  many,  were  more  prominent  than  moral.  Religion  and 
politics  were  mingled  together,  not  soon  to  be  separated  in  the 
progress  of  reform.  Moreover,  the  reformers  diflTered  upon  many 
points  among  themselves.  There  was  a  lamentable  want  of  har- 
mony between  the  Germans  and  the  Swiss.  Luther  had  quarrelled 
with  nearly  every  prominent  person  with  whom  he  had  been  asso- 
ciated, except  Melancthon,  who  yielded  to  him  implicit  obedience. 
But,  above  all,  the  Anabaptist  disorders,  which  he  detested,  and 
which  distracted  the  whole  bishopric  of  Miinster,  oppressed  and 
mortified  him.  Worn  out  with  cares,  labors,  and  vexations,  which 
ever  have  disturbed  the  peace  and  alloyed  the  happiness  of  great 


CHAP.  II.]      DEATH  AND  CHARACTER  OF  LUTHER.  29 

heroes,  and  from  which  no  greatness  is  exempt,  he  died  at  Eisle- 
ben,  in  1545,  while  on  a  visit  to  his  native  place  in  order  to  recon- 
cile dissensions  between  the  counts  of  Mansfeldt. 

Luther's  name  is  still  reverenced  in  Germany,  and,  throughout 
all  Protestant  countries,  he  is  regarded  as  the  greatest  man  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  the  church  since  the  apostolic  age. 
Others  have  been  greater  geniuses,  others  more  learned,  others 
more  devout,  and  others  more  amiable  and  interesting ;  but  none 
ever  evinced  greater  intrepidity,  or  combined  greater  qualities  of 
mind  and  heart.  He  had  his  faults  :  he  was  irritable,  dogmatic, 
and  abusive  in  his  controversial  writings.  He  had  no  toleration 
for  those  who  differed  from  him  —  the  fault  of  the  age.  But  he 
was  genial,  joyous,  friendly,  and  disinterested.  His  labors  were 
gigantic ;  his  sincerity  unimpeached ;  his  piety  enlightened  ;  his 
zeal  unquenchable.  Circumstances  and  the  new  ideas  of  his  age, 
favored  him,  but  he  made  himself  master  of  those  circumstances 
and  ideas,  and,  what  is  more,  worked  out  ideas  of  his  own,  which 
were  in  harmony  with  Christianity.  The  Reformation  would  have 
happened  had  there  been  no  Luther,  though  at  a  less  favorable 
time ;  but,  of  all  the  men  of  his  age  that  the  Reformation  could 
least  spare,  Martin  Luther  stands  preeminent.  As  the  greatest  of 
reformers,  his  name  will  be  ever  honored. 


References. — The  attention  of  the  student  is  directed  only  to  the 
most  prominent  and  valuable  works  which  treat  of  Luther  and  the  Prot- 
estant reformation.  All  the  works  are  too  nunerous,  even  to  be  deci- 
mated. Allusion  is  made  to  those  merely  which  are  accessible  and 
useful.  Among  them  may  be  mentioned,  as  most  important,  Ranke's 
History  of  the  Reformation ;  D' Aubigne's  History  of  the  Reformation ; 
Michelet's  Life  of  Luther ;  Audin's  Life  of  Luther,  a  Catholic  work, 
written  with  great  spirit,  but  not  much  liberality ;  Stebbing's  History  of 
the  Reformation  ;  a  Life  of  Luther,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Sears,  a  new  work,  writ- 
ten with  great  correctness  and  abiHty ;  Guizot's  Lectures  on  Civilization ; 
Plank's  Essay  on  the  Consequences  of  the  Reformation 

3» 


30  CHARLES   V.  [chap.  III. 


CHAPTER     III. 

THE    EMPEROR    CHARLES    V. 

When  Luther  appeared  upon  the  stage,  the  great  monarchies 
of  Europe  had  just  arisen  upon  the  ruins  of  those  Feudal  states 
which  survived  the  vi^reck  of  Charlemagne's  empire. 

The  Emperor  of  Germany,  of  all  the  monarchs  of  Europe,  had 
the  greatest  claim  to  the  antiquity  and  dignity  of  his  throne.  As 
hereditary  sovereign  of  Austria,  Styria,  Carinthia,  and  the  Tyrol,  he 
had  absolute  authority  in  his  feudal  provinces  ;  while,  as  an  elected 
emperor,  he  had  an  indirect  influence  over  Saxony,  the  Palatinate, 
the  three  archbishoprics  of  Treves,  Mentz,  and  Cologne,  and 
some  Burgundian  territories. 

But  the  most  powerful  monarchy,  at  this  time,  was  probably 
that  of  France  ;  and  its  capital  was  the  finest  city  in  Europe,  and 
the  resort  of  the  learned  and  elegant  from  all  parts  of  Christendom. 
All  strangers  extolled  the  splendor  of  the  court,  the  wealth  of 
the  nobles,  and  the  fame  of  the  university.  The  power  of  the 
monarch  was  nearly  aljsolute,  and  a  considerable  standing  army, 
even  then,  was  ready  to  obey  his  commands. 

Spain,  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  was  ruled  by 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  who,  by  their  marriage,  had  united  the 
crowns  of  Castile  and  Arragon.  The  conquest  of  Granada  and  the 
discovery  of  America  had  added  greatly  to  the  political  importance 
of  Spain,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  its  future  greatness  under 
Philip  II. 

England,  from  its  insular  position,  had  not  so  much  influence 
in  European  politics  as  the  other  powers  to  which  allusion  has 
been  made,  but  it  was,  nevertheless,  a  flourishing  and  united 
kingdom.  Henry  VII.,  the  founder  of  the  house  of  Tudor,  sat  on 
the  throne,  and  was  successful  in  suppressing  the  power  of  the 
feudal  nobility,  and  in  increasing  the  royal  authority.     Kings,  in  the 


CHAP.  III.]     SPAIN   AND   FRANCE    IN    THE    FIFTLENTH   CENTURY.     31 

fifteenth  century,  were  the  best  protectors  of  the  people,  and  aided 
them  in  their  struggles  against  their  feudal  oppressors.  England, 
however,  had  made  but  little  advance  in  commerce  or  manufac- 
tures, and  the  people  were  still  rude  and  ignorant.  The  clergy, 
as  in  other  countries,  were  the  most  intelligent  and  wealthy  por- 
tion of  the  population,  and,  consequently,  the  most  influential, 
although  disgraced  by  many  vices. 

Italy  then,  as  now,  was  divided  into  many  independent  states, 
and  distracted  by  civil  and  religious  dissensions.  The  duchy  of 
Milan  was  ruled  by  Ludovico  Moro,  son  of  the  celebrated  Francis 
Sforza.  Naples,  called  a  kingdom,  had  just  been  conquered  by 
the  French.  Florence  was  under  the  sway  of  the  Medici.  Ven- 
ice, whose  commercial  importance  had  begun  to  decline,  was 
controlled  by  an  oligarchy  of  nobles.  The  chair  of  St.  Peter  was 
filled  by  pope  Alexander  VI.,  a  pontiff  who  has  obtained  an  infa- 
mous immortality  by  the  vices  of  debauchery,  cruelty,  and  treach- 
ery. The  papacy  was  probably  in  its  most  corrupt  state,  and 
those  who  had  the  control  of  its  immense  patronage,  disregarded 
the  loud  call  for  reformation  which  was  raised  in  every  corner  of 
Christendom.  The  popes  were  intent  upon  securing  temporal  as 
well  as  spiritual  power,  and  levied  oppressive  taxes  on  both  their 
spiritual  and  temporal  subjects. 

The  great  northern  kingdoms  of  Europe,  which  are  now  so 
considerable, —  Russia,  Denmark,  Sweden,  and  Norway, — did  not, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  attract  much  attention. 
They  were  plunged  in  barbarism  and  despotism,  and  the  light  of 
science  or  religion  rarely  penetrated  into  the  interior.  The  mon- 
archs  were  sensual  and  cruel,  the  nobles  profligate  and  rapacious, 
the  clergy  ignorant  and  corrupt,  and  the  people  degraded,  and  yet 
insensible  to  their  degradation,  with  no  aspirations  for  freedom, 
and  no  appreciation  of  the  benefits  of  civilization.  Such  heroes  as 
Peter  and  Gustavus  Adolphus  had  not  yet  appeared.  Nor  were 
these  northern  nations  destined  to  be  immediately  benefited  by  the 
impulse  which  the  reformation  gave,  with  the  exception  of  Sweden, 
then  the  most  powerful  of  these  kingdoms. 

The  Greek  empire  became  extinct  when  Constantinople  was 
taken  by  the  Turks,  in  1453.  On  its  ruins,  the  Ottoman  power 
y"ir  raisod-     A:  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  centurj^,  the  Turkish 


3*-4  CHARLES   V.  [chap.  IIT. 

arms  were  very  powerful,  and  Europe  again  trembled  before  the 
Moslems.  Greece  and  the  whole  of  Western  Asia  were  obedient 
to  the  sultan.  But  his  power  did  not  reach  its  culminating  point 
until  a  century  afterwards. 

Such  were  the  various  states  of  Europe  when  the  Reformation 
broke  out.  Maximili^m  was  emperor  of  Germany,  and  Charles  V. 
had  just  inherited,  from  his  father,  Philip  the  Fair,  who  had  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  the  kingdom  of  Spain, 
in  addition  to  the  dominion  of  the  Netherlands. 

By  the  death  of  Maximilian,  in  1519,  the  youthful  sovereign  of 
Spain  and  the  Netherlands  came  into  possession  of  the  Austrian 
dominions ;  and  the  electors,  shortly  after,  chose  him  emperor  of 
Grermany. 

He  was  bom  at  Ghent,  A.  D.   1500,  and  was  educated  with 
great  care.     He  early  displayed  his  love  of  government,  and,  at 
fifteen,  was  present  at  the  deliberations  of  the  cabinet.     But  he  , 
had  no  taste  for  learning,  and  gave  but  few  marks  of  that  genius  -' 
which  he    afterwards   evinced.     He   was   much  attached  to  his/ 
Flemish  subjects,  and,  during  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  gave  great '' 
offence  to  the  grandees  of  Spain  and  the  nobles  of  GJermany  by 
his  marked  partiality  for  those  men  who  had  been  his  early  com- 
panions. 

It  is  difficult  to  trace,  in  the  career  of  Charles  V,,  any  powerful 
motives  of  conduct,  separate  from  the  desire  of  aggrandizement. 
The  interests  of  the  church,  with  w^ich  he  was  identified,  and  the 
true  welfare  of  his  subjects,  were,  at  different  times,  sacrificed  to  his 
ambition.  Had  there  been  no  powerful  monarchs  on  the  other 
thrones  of  Europe,  his  dreams  of  power  might  possibly  have  been 
realized.  But  at  this  period  there  happened  to  be  a  constellation 
of  princes. 

The  greatest  of  these,  and  the  chief  rival  through  life  of 
Charles,  was  Francis  I.  of  France.  He  had  even  anticipated  an 
election  to  the  imperial  crown,  which  would  have  made  him  more 
powerful  than  even  Charles  himself.  The  electors  feared  both, 
and  chose  Frederic  of  Saxony ;  but  he  declined  the  dangerous 
post.  Charles,  as  Archduke  of  Austria,  had  such  great  and 
obvious  claims,  that  they  could  not  be  disregarded.  He  was  there- 
fore the  fortunate  candidate.     But  his  election  was  a  great  disap- 


CHAP.  III.]        WARS    BETWEEN   CHARLES   AND   FRANCIS.  33 

pointment  to  Francis,  and  he  could  not  conceal  his  mortification. 
Peace  could  not  long  subsist  between  two  envious  and  ambitious 
princes.  Francis  was  nearly  of  the  same  age  as  Charles,  had 
inherited  nearly  despotic  power,  was  free  from  financial  embarrass- 
ments, and  ruled  over  an  united  and  loyal  people.  He  was  therefore 
no  contemptible  match  for  Charles.  In  addition,  he  strengthened 
himself  by  alliances  with  the  Swiss  and  Venetians.  Charles 
sought  the  favor  of  the  pope  and  Henry  VIII.  of  England.  The 
real  causes  of  war  were  mutual  jealousies,  and  passion  for  military 
glory.  The  assigned  causes  were,  that  Charles  did  not  respect 
the  claims  of  Francis  as  king  of  Naples ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  Francis  had  seized  the  duchy  of  Milan,  which  was  a  fief  of 
the  empire,  and  also  retained  the  duchy  of  Burgundy,  the  patri- 
monial inheritance  of  the  emperor. 

The  political  history  of  Europe,  for  nearly  half  a  century,  is  a 
record  of  the  wars  between  these  powerful  pnnces,  of  their  mutual 
disasters,  disappointments,  and  successes.  Other  contests  were 
involved  in  these,  and  there  were  also  some  which  arose  from 
causes  independent  of  mutual  jealousy,  such  as  the  revolt  of  the 
Spanish  grandees,  of  the  peasants  in  Germany,  and  of  the  inva- 
sion of  the  empire  by  the  Turks.  During  the  reign  of  Charles, 
was  also  the  division  of  the  princes  of  Germany,  on  grounds  of 
religion  —  the  foundation  of  the  contest  which,  after  the  death  of . 
Charles,  convulsed  Germany  for  thirty  years.  But  the  Thirty 
Years'  War  was  a  religious  war  —  was  one  of  the  political  conse- 
quences of  the  Reformation.  The  wars  between  Charles  and 
Francis  were  purely  wars  of  military  ambition.  Charles  had 
greater  territories  and  larger  armies ;  but  Francis  had  more  money, 
and  more  absolute  control  over  his  forces.  Charles's  power  was 
checked  in  Spain  by  the  free  spirit  of  the  Cortes,  and  in  Ger- 
many by  the  independence  of  the  princes,  and  by  the  embarrass- 
ing questions  which  arose  out  of  the  Reformation. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  read  the  various  wars  between  Charles 
and  his  rival.  Each  of  them  gained,  at  different  times,  great 
successes,  p^d  each  experienced,  in  turn,  the  most  humiliating 
reverses.  Francis  was  even  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Pavia, 
in  1525,  and  confined  in  a  fortress  at  Madrid,  until  he  promised  to 
the  victors  the  complete  dismemberment  of  France  -  -  an  extorted 

D 


34  WARS   BETWEEN   CHARLES   AND   FRANCIS.       [   iIAP.  III. 

promise  he  never  meant  to  keep.  No  sooner  had  he  recovered 
his  Hberty,  than  he  violated  all  his  oaths,  and  Europe  was  again 
the  scene  of  fresh  hostilities.  TIfe  passion  of  revenge  was  now 
added  to  that  of  ambition,  and,  as  the  pope  had  favored  the  cause 
of  Francis,  the  generals  of  Charles  invaded  Italy.  Rome  was 
taken  and  sacked  by  the  constable  Bourbon,  a  Frqnch  noble 
whom  Francis  had  slighted,  and  cruelties  and  outrages  were  per- 
petrated by  the  imperial  forces  which  never  disgraced  Alaric  or 
Attila. 

Charles  affected  to  be  filled  with  grief  in  view  of  the  victories 
of  his  generals,  and  pretended  that  they  acted  without  his  orders. 
He  employed  every  artifice  to  deceive  indignant  Christendom,  and 
appointed  prayers  and  processions  throughout  Spain  for  the  re- 
covery of  the  pope's  liberty,  which  one  stroke  of  his  pen  could 
have  secured.  Thus  it  was,  that  the  most  Catholic  and  bigoted 
prince  in  Europe  seized  the  pope's  person,  and  sacked  his  city,  at 
the  very  time  when  Luther  was  prosecuting  his  reform.  And 
this  fact  shows  how  much  more  powerfully  the  emperor  was  influ- 
enced by  political,  than  by  religious  considerations.  It  also  shows 
the  providence  of  God  in  permitting  the  only  men,  who  coulc 
have  arrested  the  reformation,  to  spend  their  strength  in  battling 
each  other,  rather  than  the  heresy  which  they  deplored.  Had 
Charles  been  less  powerful  and  ambitious,  he  probably  would  have 
contented  himself  in  punishing  heretics,  and  in  uniting  with 
natural  ally,  the  pope,  in  suppressing  every  insurrection  which  h 
for  its  object  the  rights  of  conscience  and  the  enjoyment  of  popi 
lar  liberty. 

The  war  was  continued  for  two  years  longer  between  Francis 
and  Charles,  with  great  acrimony,  but  with  various  success,  both 
parties  being,  at  one  time,  strengthened  by  alliances,  and  then 
again  weakened  by  desertions.  At  last,  both  parties  were  ex- 
hausted, and  were  willing  to  accede  to  terms  which  they  had 
previously  rejected  with  disdain.  Francis  was  the  most  weakened 
and  disheartened,  but  Charles  was  the  most  perplexed.  The 
troubles  growing  out  of  the  Reformation  demanded  his  attention, 
and  the  Turks,  at  this  period  a  powerful  nation,  were  about  in- 
vading Austria.  The  Spaniards  murmured  at  the  unusual  length 
of  the  war,  and  money  was  witih  diflliculty  obtained. 


1 


CHAP.  III.]  DIET    OF    SPIRES.  35 

Hence  the  peace  of  Cambray,  August  5,  1529  ;  which  was  very 
advantageous  to  Charles,  in  consequence  of  the  impulsive  charac- 
ter of  Francis,  and  his  impatience  to  recover  his  children,  whom 
hp.  had  surrendered  to  Charles  in  order  to  recover  his  liberty.  He 
g^^>ct  to  pay  two  millions  of  crowns  for  the  ransom  of  his  sons, 
dnd  renounce  his  pretensions  in  the  Low  Countries  and  Italy.  He, 
moreover,  lost  reputation,  and  the  confidence  of  Europe,  by  the 
abandonment  of  his  allies.  Charles  remained  the  arbiter  of  Italy, 
and  was  attentive  to  the  interests  of  all  who  adhered  to  him. 
With  less  chivalry  than  his  rival,  he  had  infinitely  more  Jionor. 
Cold,  sagacious,  selfish,  and  ambitious,  he  was,  however,  just,  and 
kept  his  word.  He  combined  qualities  we  often  see  in  selfish 
men  —  a  sort  of  legal  and  technical  regard  to  the  letter  of  the  law, 
with  the  constant  violation  of  its  spirit.  A  Shylock  might  not 
enter  a  false  charge  upon  his  books,  while  he  would  adhere  to  a 
most  extortionate  bargain. 

Charles,  after  the  treaty  of  Cambray  was  signed,  visited  Italy 
with  all  the  pomp  of  a  conqueror.  At  Genoa,  he  honored  Doria 
with  many  marks  of  distinction,  and  bestowed  upon  the  republic 
new  privileges.  He  settled  all  his  difficulties  with  Milan,  Venice, 
and  Florence,  and  reestablished  the  authority  of  the  Medici.  He 
was  then  crowned  by  the  pope,  whom  he  had  trampled  on,  as  King 
of  Lombardy  and  Emperor  of  tlie  Romans,  and  hastened  into 
Germany,  which  imperatively  required  his  presence,  both  on 
account  of  dissensions  among  the  princes,  which  the  reformation 
caused,  and  the  invasion  of  Austria  \>y  three  hundred  thousand 
Turks.  He  resolved  to  recover  the  old  prerogatives  of  the  em- 
peror of  Germany,  and  crush  those  opinions  which  were  under- 
mining his  authority,  as  well  as  the  power  of  Rome,  with  which 
his  own  was  identified. 

A  Diet  of  the  empire  was  accordingly  summoned  at  Spires,  m 
order  to  take  into  consideration  the  state  of  religion,  the  main 
cause  of  all  the  disturbances  in  Germany.  It  met  on  the  15th  of 
March,  1529,  and  the  greatest  address  was  required  to  prevent 
a  civil  war.  All  that  Charles  could  obtain  from  the  assembled 
princes  was,  the  promise  to  prevent  any  further  innovations.  A 
decree  to  that  effect  was  passed,  against  which,  however,  the 
followers  of  Luther  protested,  the  most  powerful  of  whom  were 


36  HOSTILITIES   BETWEEN   CHARLES   AND   TEANCIS.     [cHAP.  IK 

the  Elector  of  Saxony,  theTMarquis  of  Brandenburg,  the  Landgrave 
of  Hesse,  the  Duke  of  Lunenburg,  the  Prince  of  Anhalt,  and  the 
deputies  of  fourteen  imperial  cities.  This  protest  gave  to  them 
the  name  of  Protestants  —  a  name  ever  since  retained.  Soon 
after,  the  diet  assembled  at  Augsburg,  when  the  articles  of  faitli 
among  the  Protestants  were  read,  —  known  as  the  Confession  of 
Augsburg,  —  which j  however,  the  emperor  opposed.  In  conse- 
quence of  his  decree,  the  Protestant  prihces  entered  into  a  league 
at  Smalcalde,  (December  22,  1530,)  to  support  one  another,  and 
defend  their  religion.  Circumstances  continually  occurred  to 
convince  Charles,  that  the  extirpation  of  heresy  by  the  sword  was 
impossible  in  Germany,  and  moreover,  he  saw  it  was  for  his 
interest  —  to  which  his  eye  was  peculiarly  open  —  to  unite  all  the 
German  provinces  in  a  vigorous  confederation.  Accordingly, 
after  many  difficulties,  and  with  great  reluctance,  terms  of  pacifi- 
cation were  agreed  upon  at  Nuremburg,  (1531,)  and  ratified  in 
the  diet  at  Ratisbon,  shortly  after,  by  which  it  was  agreed  that  no 
person  should  be  molested  in  his  religion,  and  that  the  Protestants, 
on  their  part,  should  assist  the  emperor  in  resisting  the  invasion 
of  the  Turks.  The  Germans,  with  their  customary  good  faith, 
furnished  all  the  assistance  they  promised,  and  one  of  the  best 
armies  ever  raised  in  Germany,  amounting  to  ninety  thousand 
foot,  and  thirty  thousand  horse,  took  the  field,  commanded  by 
the  emperor  in  person.  But  the  campaign  ended  without  any 
memorable  event,  both  parties  having  erred  from  excessive 
caution. 

Francis  soon  availed  himself  of  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of 
his  rival,  formed  an  alliance  with  the  Turks,  put  forth  his  old 
claims,  courted  the  favor  of  the  German  Protestants,  and  renewed 
hostilities.  He  marched  towards  Italy,  and  took  possession  of 
the  dominions  of  the  duke  of  Savoy,  whom  the  emperor,  at  this 
)uncture,  was  unable  to  assist,  on  account  of  his  ATrican  expe- 
dition against  the  pirate  Barbarossa.  This  noted  corsair  had 
ouilt  up  a  great  power  in  Tunis  and  Algiers,  and  committed 
shameful  ravages  on  all  Christian  nations.  Charles  landed  in 
Africa  with  thirty  thousand  men,  took  the  fortress  of  Goletta,  de- 
feated the  pirate's  army,  captured  his  capital,  and  restored  the 
exiled  Moorish  king  to  his  throne.     In  the  midst  of  these  victories 


CHAP.  III.]  AFRICAN    WAR.  -37 

Francis  invaded  Savoy.  Charles  was  terribly  indignant,  and 
loaded  his  rival  with  such  violent  invectives  that  Francis  challenged 
him  to  single  combat.  The  challenge  was  accepted,  but  the  duel 
was  never  fought.  Charles,  in  his  turn,  invaded  France,  with  a 
large  army,  for  that  age  —  forty  thousand  foot  and  ten  thousand 
horse  ;  but  the  expedition  was  unfortunate.  Francis  acted  on  the 
defensive  with  admirable  skill,  and  was  fortunate  in  his  general, 
Montmorency,  who  seemed  possessed  with  the  spirit  of  a  Fabius. 
The  emperor,  at  last,  was  compelled  to  return  ingloriously,  having 
lost  half  of  his  army  without  having  gained  a  single  important  ad- 
vantage. The  joy  of  Francis,  however,  was  embittered  by  the  death 
of  the  dauphin,  attributed  by  some  to  the  infamous  Catharine  de 
Medicis,  wifeof  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  in  order  to  secure  the  crown 
to  her  husband.  War  did  not  end  with  the  retreat  of  Charles,  but 
was  continued,  with  great  personal  animosity,  until  mutual  exhaus- 
tion led  to  a  truce  for  ten  years,  concluded  at  Nice,  in  1538.  Both 
parties  had  exerted  their  utmost  strength,  and  neither  had  obtained 
any  signal  advantage.  Notwithstanding  their  open  and  secret 
enmity,  they  had  an  interview  shortly  after  the  truce,  in  which 
both  vied  with  each  other  in  expressions  of  esteem  and  friendship, 
and  in  the  exhibition  of  chivalrous  courtesies  —  a  miserable  mock- 
ery, as  shown  by  the  violation  of  the  terms  of  the  truce,  and  the 
renewal  of  hostilities  in  1541. 

These  were,  doutless,  facilitated  by  Charles's  unfortunate  expe- 
dition against  Algiers  in  1541,  by  which  he  gained  nothing  but 
disgrace.  His  army  was  wasted  by  famine  and  disease,  and  a 
tempest  destroyed  his  fleet.  All  the  complicated  miseries  which 
war  produces  were  endured  by  his  unfortunate  troops,  but  a  small 
portion  of  whom  ever  returned,  Francis,  taking  advantage  of 
these  misfortunes,  made  immense  military  preparations,  formed  a 
league  with  the  Sultan  Solyman,  and  brought  five  armies  into  the 
field.  He  assumed  the  offensive,  and  invaded  the  Netherlands, 
but  obtained  no  laurels.  Charles  formed  a  league  with  Henry 
VIII.,  and  the  war  raged,  with  various  success,  without  either 
party  obtaining  any  signal  advantage,  for  three  years,  when  a 
peace  was  concluded  at  Crespy,  in  1544.  Charles,  being  in  the 
heart  of  France  with  an  invading  army,  had  the  apparent  advantage ; 
but  the  di Acuity  of  retreating  out  of  France  in  case  of  disaster, 
4 


38  COUNCIL  OP  TRENT.  [cHAP.  Ill 

and  the  troubles  in  Gennany,  forced  him  to  suspend  hb  militaiy 
openitioDS.  The  pope,  also,  was  offended  because  he  had  con- 
ceded so  much  to  the  Protestants,  and  the  Turks  pressed  him  on 
the  side  of  Hungary.  Moreover,  he  was  afflicted  with  the  gout, 
which  indisposed  him  for  complicated  enterprises.  In  view  of 
these  things,  he  made  peace  with  Francis,  formed  a  strong  alliance 
with  the  pope,  and  resolved  to  extirpate  the  Protestant  religion, 
which  was  the  cause  of  so  many  insurrections  in  Grermany. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  pope  resolved  to  assemble  the  famous 
Council  of  Trent,  the  legality  of  which  the  Protestants  denied,  ll 
met  in  December,  1545,  and  was  the  last  general  council  which 
the  popes  ever  assembled.  It  met  with  a  view  of  healing  the 
dissensions  of  the  church,  and  confirming  the  authority  of  the 
pope.  The  princes  of  Europe  hoped  that  important  reforms  would 
have  been  made ;  but  nothing  of  consequence  was  done,  and  the 
attention  of  the  divines  was  directed  to  dogmas  mther  than  morals. 
The  great  number  of  Italian  iNshc^  enabled  the  pope  to  have  every 
thing  his  own.\i-ay,  in  spite  of  the  remonstrance  of  the  German, 
Spanish,  and  French  prelates,  and  the  ambassadors  of  the  differ- 
ent UKnarchs,  who  also  had  seats  in  the  council.  The  decrees  of 
this  council,  respecting  articles  of  faith,  are  considered  as  a  final 
authority  by  the  Roman  church.  It  denounced  the  reform  of 
Luther,  and  confirmed  the  various  ecclesiastical  usurpations  which 
had  rendered  the  reformation  necessary.  It  lasted  twenty-two 
years,  at  dififerent  intervals,  during  the  p(»itificate  at  five  popes. 
The  Jesuits,  just  rising  into  notice,  had  considerable  influence  in  the 
council,  in  ccMisequence  of  the  learning  and  alMlity  o£  their  repre- 
sentatives, and  especially  of  Laynez,  thfe*  general  of  the  order. 
The  Dominicans  and  Frandscans  manifested  their  accustomed 
animosities  and  rivalries,  and  questions  were  c(Mitinually  proposed 
and  agitated,  which  divided  the  assembly.  The  French  bishops, 
headed  by  the  Cardinal  of  Lorredne,  were  opposed  to  the  high  pre- 
tensions of  the  Italians,  especially  of  Cardinal  Morone,  the  papal 
legate ;  but,  by  artifice  and  management,  the  more  strenuous 
adherents  of  the  pope  attained  their  ends. 

About  the  time  the  council  assembled,  died  three  distinguished 
persons  —  Henry  Ym.  of  England,  Francis  L,  and  Luther. 
Charles  Y.  was  freed  from  his  great  rival,  and  from  the  only 


CHAP.  III.]  TREACHERY    OF    MAURICE.  39 

private  person  in,  his  dominions  he  had  reason  to  fear.  He  now, 
in  good  earnest,  turned  his  attention  to  the  internal  state  of  his 
empire,  and  resolved  to  crush  the  Reformation,  and,  by  force,  if 
It  were  necessary.  He  commenced  by  endeavoring  to  amuse  and 
deceive  the  Protestants,  and  evinced  that  profound  dissimulation, 
which  was  one  of  his  characteristics.  He  formed  a  strict  alliance 
with  the  pope,  made  a  truce  with  Solyman,  and  won  over  to  his 
side  Maurice  and  other  German  princes.  His  military  prepara- 
tions and  his  intrigues  alarmed  the  Protestants,  and  they  prepared 
themselves  for  resistance.  Religious  zeal  seconded  their  military 
ardor.  One  of  the  largest  armies,  which  had  been  raised  in  Eu- 
rope for  a  century,  took  the  field,  and  Charles,  shut  up  in  Ratis- 
bon,  was  in  no  condition  to  fight.  Unfortunately  for  the  Protes- 
tants, they  negotiated  instead  of  acting.  The  emperor  was  in 
their  power,  but  he  was  one  of  those  few  persons  who  remained 
haughty  and  inflexible  in  the  midst  of  calamities.  He  pronounced 
the  ban  of  the  empire  against  the  Protestant  princes,  who  were  no 
match  for  a  man  who  had  spent  his  life  in  the  field  :  they  acted 
without  concert,  and  committed  many  errors.  Their  forces  de- 
creased, while  those  of  the  emperor  increased  by  large  additions 
from  Italy  and  Flanders.  Instead  of  decisive  action,  the  Protes- 
tants dallied  and  procrastinated,  unwilling  to  make  peace,  and 
unwilling  to  face  their  sovereign.  Their  army  melted  away,  and 
nothing  of  importance  was  effected. 

Maurice,  cousin  to  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  with  a  baseness  to  which 
history  scarcely  affords  a  parallel,  deserted  his  allies,  and  joined 
the  emperor,  purely  from  ambitious  motives,  and  invaded  the  terri- 
tories of  his  kinsman  with  twelve  thousand  men.  The  confederates 
made  overtures  of  peace,  which  being  rejected,  they  separated, 
and  most  of  them  submitted  to  the  emperor.  He  treated  them 
with  haughtiness  and  rigor,  imposed  on  them  most  humiliating 
terms,  forced  them  to  renounce  the  league  of  Smalcalde,  to  give 
up  their  military  stores,  to  admit  garrisons  into  their  cities,  and  to 
pay  large  contributions  in  money. 

The  Elector  of  Saxony  and  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  however, 
held  out ;  and  such  was  the  condition  of  the  emperor,  that  he  could 
not  immediately  attack  them.  But  the  death  of  Francis  gave  liim 
leisure  to  invade  Saxony,  and  the  elector  was  defeated  at  the  battle 


40  CAPTIVITY    OF   THE    LANDGRAVE    OF    IIESSE.      [ciIAP.  III. 

of  Muhlhausen,  (1547,)and  taken  prisoner.  The  captive  prince 
approached  the  victor  without  suUenness  or  pride.  "  The  fortune 
of  war,"  said  he,  "  has  made  me  your  prisoner,  most  gracious 
emperor,  and  I  hope  to  be  treated "  Here  Charles  inter- 
rupted him  —  "  And  am  I,  at  last,  acknowledged  to  be  emperor  ? 
Charles  of  Ghent  was  the  only  title  you  lately  allowed  me.  You 
shall  be  treated  as  you  deserve."  At  these  words  he  turned  his 
'  back  upon  him  with  a  haughty  air. 

The  unfortunate  prince  was  closejy  guarded  by  Spanish  soldiers, 
and  brought  to  a  trial  before  a  court  martial,  at  which  presided  the 
infamous  Duke  of  Alva,  afterwards  celebrated  for  his  cruelties  in 
Holland.  He  was  convicted  of  treason  and  rebellion,  and  sen- 
tenced to  death  —  a  sentence  which  no  court  martial  had  a  right 
to  inflict  on  the  first  prince  of  the  empire.  He  was  treated  with 
ignominious  harshness,  which  he  bore  with  great  magnanimity,  but 
finally  made  a  treaty  with  the  emperor,  by  which,  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  his  life,  he  relinquished  his  kingdom  to  Maurice. 

The  landgrave  was  not  strong  enough  to  resist  the  power  of 
Charles,  after  all  his  enemies  were  subdued,  and  he  made  his  sub- 
mission, though  Charles  extorted  the  most  rigorous  conditions,  he 
being  required  to  surrender  his  person,  abandon  the  league  of 
Smalcalde,  implore  pardon  on  his  knees,  demolish  his  fortifications, 
and  pay  an  enormous  fine.  In  short,  it  was  an  unconditional  sub- 
mission. Beside  infinite  mortifications,  he  was  detained  a  prisoner, 
which,  on  Charles's  part,  was  but  injury  added  to  insult  —  an  act 
of  fraud  and  injustice  which  inspired  the  prince,  and  the  Protes- 
tants, generally,  with  unbounded  indignation.  The  Elector  of  Bran- 
denburg and  Maurice  in  vain  solicited  for  his  liberty,  and  showed 
the  infamy  to  which  he  would  be  exposed  if  he  detained  the  land- 
gi'ave  a  prisoner.  But  the  emperor  listened  to  their  remonstrances 
with  the  most  provoking  coolness,  and  showed  very  plainly  that  he 
was  resolved  to  crush  all  rebellion,  suppress  Protestantism,  and  raise 
up  an  absolute  throne  in  Germany,  to  the  subversion  of  its  ancient 
constitution. 

To  all  appearances,  his  triumph  was  complete.     His  great  rival 

was  dead ;  his  enemies  were  subdued  and  humiliated ;  Luther's 

voice  was  hushed ;  and  immense  contributions  filled  the  imperial 

treasury.     He  now  began  to  realize  the  dreams  of  his  life.     He 

t 


CHAP.  III.]  HEROISM    OF    MAURICE.  41 

was  unquestionably,  at  that  time,  the  most  absolute  and  powerful 
prince  Europe  has  ever  seen  since  Charlemagne,  with  the  exception 
of  Napoleon. 

But  what  an  impressive  moral  does  the  history  of  human  great- 
ness convey !  The  hour  of  triumph  is  often  but  the  harbinger  of 
defeat  and  shame.  "  Pride  goeth  before  destruction."  Charles 
v.,  with  all  his  policy  and  experience,  overreached  himself.  The 
failure  of  his  ambitious  projects  and  the  restoration  of  Protestant- 
ism, were  brought  about  by  instruments  the  least  anticipated. 

The  cause  of  Protestantism  and  the  liberties  of  Germany  were 
endangered  by  the  treachery  of  Maurice,  who  received,  as  his 
reward,  the  great  electorate  of  Saxony.  He  had  climbed  to  the 
summit  of  glory  and  power.  Who  would  suppose  that  this  traitor 
prince  would  desert  the  emperor,  who  had  so  splendidly  rewarded 
his  services,  and  return  to  the  rescue  of  those  princes  whom  he 
had  so  basely  betrayed  ?  But  who  can  thread  the  labyrinth  of  an 
intriguing  and  selfish  heart  ?  Who  can  calculate  the  movements 
of  an  unprincipled  and  restless  politician  ?  Maurice,  at  length, 
awoke  to  the  perception  of  the  real  condition  of  his  country.  He 
saw  its  liberties  being  overturned  by  the  most  ambitious  man 
whom  ten  centuries  had  produced.  He  saw  the  cause,  which 
his  convictions  told  him  was  the  true  one,  in  danger  of  being 
wrecked.  He  was,  moreover,  wounded  by  the  pride,  coldness,  and 
undisguised  selfishness  of  the  emperor.  He  was  indignant  that 
the  landgrave,  his  father-in-law,  should  be  retained  a  prisoner, 
against  all  the  laws  of  honor  and  of  justice.  He  resolved  to  come 
to  the  rescue  of  his  country.  He  formed  his  plans  with  the  great- 
est coolness,  and  exercised  a  power  of  dissimulation  that  has  no 
parallel  in  history.  But  his  address  was  even  greater  than  his 
hypocrisy.  He  gained  the  confidence  of  the  Protestants,  without 
losing  that  of  the  emperor.  He  even  obtained  the  command  of 
an  army  which  Charles  sent  to  reduce  the  rebellious  city  of  Mag- 
deburg, and,  while  he  was  besieging  the  city,  he  was  negotiating 
with  the  generals  who  defended  it  for  a  general  union  against  the 
emperor.  Magdeburg  surrendered  in  1551.  Its  chieftains  were 
secretly  assured  that  the  terms  of  capitulation  should  not  be  ob- 
served. His  next  point  was,  to  keep  the  army  together  until  his 
schemes  were  ripened,  and  then  to  arrest  the  emperor,  whose 
4* 


42  MISFOBTUNES   OF   CHARLES.  [CHAP.  111. 

thoughts  now  centred  on  the  council  of  Trent.  So  he  proposed 
sending  Protestant  divines  to  the  council,  but  delayed  their  depart- 
ure by  endless  negotiations  about  the  terms  of  a  safe  conduct. 
He,  moreover,  formed  a  secret  treaty  with  Henry  II.,  the  successor 
of  Francis,  whose  animosity  against  Charles  was  as  intense  as  was 
that  of  his  father.  When  his  preparations  were  completed,  he 
joined  his  army  in  Thuringia,  and  took  the  field  against  the  empe- 
ror, who  had  no  suspicion  of  his  designs,  and  who  blindly  trusted 
to  him,  deeming  it  impossible  that  a  man,  whom  he  had  so  honored 
and  rewarded,  could  turn  against  him.  March  18,  1552,  Maurice 
published  his  manifesto,  justifying  his  conduct ;  and  his  reasons 
were,  to  secure  the  Protestant  religion,  to  maintain  the  constitution 
of  the  empire,  and  deliver  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse  from  bondage. 
He  was  powerfully  supported  by  the  French  king,  and,  with  a 
rapidly  increasing  army,  marched  towards  Innspruck,  where  the 
emperor  was  quartered.  The  emperor  was  thunderstruck  when 
he  heard  the  tidings  of  his  desertion,  and  was  in  no  condition  to 
resist  him.  He  endeavored  to  gain  time  by  negotiations,  but  these 
were  without  effect.  Maurice,  at  the  head  of  a  large  army,  ad- 
vanced rapidly  into  Upper  Germany.  Castles  and  cities  surren- 
dered as  he  advanced,  and  so  rapid  was  his  progress,  that  he  came 
near  taking  the  emperor  captive.  Charles  was  obliged  to  fly,  in 
tlie  middle  of  the  night,  and  to  travel  on  a  litter  by  torchlight, 
amid  the  passes  of  the  Alps.  He  scarcely  left  Innspruck  before 
Maurice  entered  it  —  but  too  late  to  gain  the  prize  he  sought. 
The  emperor  rallied  his  armies,  and  a  vigorous  war  was  carried 
on  between  the  contending  parties,  to  the  advantage  of  the  Protes- 
tants. The  emperor,  after  a  while,  was  obliged  to  make  peace 
with  them,  for  his  Spanish  subjects  were  disgusted  with  the  war, 
his  funds  were  exhausted,  his  forces  dispersed,  and  his  territories 
threatened  by  the  French.  On  the  2d  of  August,  1552,  was 
concluded  the  peace  of  Passau,  which  secured  'the  return  of  the 
landgrave  to  his  dominions,  the  freedom  of  religion  to  the  Protes- 
tants, and  the  preservation  of  the  German  constitution.  The  san- 
guine hopes  of  the  emperor  were  dispelled,  and  all  his  ambitious 
schemes  defeated,  and  he  left  to  meditate,  in  the  intervals  of  the 
pains  which  he  suffered  from  the  gout,  on  the  instability  of  all 
greatness,   and   the   vanity   of  human   life.     Maurice   was  now 


CHAP.    III-l  TREATY    OF   PASSAU.  43 

extolled  as  extravagantly  as  he  had  been  before  denounced,  and 
his  treachery  justified,  even  by  grave  divines.  But  what  is  most 
singular  in  the  whole  affair,  was,  that  the  French  king,  while  per- 
secuting Protestants  at  home,  should  protect  them  abroad.  But 
this  conduct  may  confirm,  in  a  signal  manner,  the  great  truth  of 
history,  that  God  regulates  the  caprice  of  human  passions,  and 
makes  them  subservient  to  the  accomplishment  of  his  own  pur- 
poses. 

The  labors  and  perplexities  of  Charles  V.  were  not  diminished 
by  the  treaty  of  Passau.  He  continued  his  hostilities  against  the 
French  and  against  the  Turks.  He  was  obliged  to  raise  the  siege 
of  Metz,  which  was  gallantly  defended  by  the  Duke  of  Guise. 
To  his  calamities  in  France,  were  added  others  in  Italy.  Sienna 
revolted  against  his  government,  and  Naples  was  threatened  by  the 
Turks. .  The  imperialists  were  unsuccessful  in  Italy  and  in  Hun- 
gary, and  the  Archduke  Ferdinand  was  obliged  to  abandon  Tran- 
sylvania. But  war  was  carried  on  in  the  Low  Countries  with 
considerable  vigor. 

Charles,  whose  only  passion  was  the  aggrandizement  of  his 
house,  now  projected  a  marriage  of  his  son,  Philip,  with  Mary, 
queen  of  England.  The  queen,  dazzled  by  the  prospect  of  mar- 
rying the  heir  of  the  greatest  monarch  in  Europe,  and  eager  to 
secure  his  powerful  aid  to  reestablish  Catholicism  in  England, 
listened  to  his  proposal,  although  it  was  disliked  by  the  nation.  In 
spite  of  the  remonstrance  of  the  house  of  commons,  the  marriage 
treaty  was  concluded,  and  the  marriage  celebrated,  (1554.) 

Soon  after,  Charles  formed  the  extraordinary  resolution  of  re- 
signing his  dominions  to  his  son,  and  of  retiring  to  a  quiet  retreat. 
Diocletian  is  the  only  instance  of  a  prince,  capable  of  holding  the 
reins  of  government,  who  had  adopted  a  similar  course.  All 
Europe  was  astonished  at  the  resolution  of  Charles,  and  all  histo- 
rians of  the  period  have  moralized  on  the  event.  But  it  ceases  to 
be  mysterious,  when  we  remember  that  Charles  was  no  nearer 
the  accomplishment  of  the  ends  which  animated  his  existence, 
than  he  was  thirty  years  before ;  that  he  was  disgusted  and 
wearied  with  the  world  ;  that  he  suffered  severely  from  the  gout, 
which,  at  times,  incapacitated  him  for  the  government  of  his 
extensive  dominions.     It  was  never  his  habit  to  intrust  others  with 


44  CHARACTER    OF    CHARLES    V.  [cHAP.    III. 

duties  and  labors  which  he  could  perform  himself,  and  he, felt  that 
his  empire  needed  a  more  powerful  protector  than  his  infirmities 
permitted  him  to  be.  He  was  grown  prematurely  old ;  he  felt 
his  declining  health  ;  longed  for  repose,  and  sought  religious  con- 
solation. Of  all  his  vast  possessions,  he  only  reserved  an  annual 
pension  of  one  hundred  thousand  crowns ;  resigning  Spain  and  the 
Low  Countries  into  the  hands  of  Philip,  and  the  empire  of  Ger- 
many to  his  brother  Ferdinand,  who  had  already  been  elected  as 
King  of  the  Romans.  He  then  set  out  for  his  retreat  in  Spain, 
which  was  the  monastery  of  St.  Justus,  near  Placentia,  situated  in 
a  lovely  vale,  surrounded  with  lofty  trees,  watered  by  a  small 
brook,  and  rendered  attractive  by  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  the 
delightful  temperature  of  the  climate.  Here  he  spent  his  last 
days  in  agricultural  improvements  and  religious  exercises,  appa- 
rently regardless  of  that  noisy  world  which  he  had  deserted  for- 
ever, and  indifferent  to  those  political  storms  which  his  restless 
ambition  had  raised.  Here  his  grandeur  and  his  worldly  hopes 
were  buried  in  preparing  himself  for  the  future  world.  He  lived 
with  great  simplicity,  for  two  years  after  his  retreat,  and  died 
(1558,)  from  the  effects  of  the  gout,  which,  added  to  his  great 
labors,  had  shattered  his  constitution.  He  was  not  what  the  world 
would  call  a  great  genius,  like  Napoleon ;  but  he  was  a  man  of 
great  sagacity,  untiring  industry,  and  respectable  attainments. 
He  was  cautious,  cold,  and  selfish  ;  had  but  little  faith  in  human 
virtue  ;  and  was  a  slave,  in  his  latter  days,  to  superstition.  He 
was  neither  affable  nor  courteous,  but  was  sincere  in  his  attach- 
ments, and  munificent  in  rewarding  his  generals  and  friends.  He 
was  not  envious  nor  cruel,  but  inordinately  ambitious,  and  intent 
on  aggrandizing  his  family.  This  was  his  characteristic  defect, 
and  this,  in  a  man  so  prominent  and  so  favored  by  circumstances, 
was  enough  to  keep  Europe  in  a  turmoil  for  nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury. 


Refekences.  —  Robertson's  History  of  Charles  V.  Ranke's  History  of 
tbe  Reformation.  Kohlrausch's  History  of  Germany.  Russell's  Modern 
Europe.  The  above-mentioned  authors  are  easily  accessible,  and  are  all 
that  are  necessary  for  the  student.  Robertson's  History  is  a  classic,  and 
an  immortal  work. 


( 


CHAP.    IV.]  RISE    OF   ABSOLUTE    MONARCHY.  45 


CHAPTER    IV. 

HENRY  VIII.. 

The  history  of  Europe  in  the  sixteenth  century  is  peculiarly 
the  history  of  the  wars  of  kings,  and  of  their  efforts  to  establish 
themselves  and  their  families  on  absolute  thrones.  The  monoto- 
nous, and  almost  exclusive,  record  of  royal  pleasures  and  pursuits 
shows  in  how  little  consideration  the  people  were  held.  They 
struggled,  and  toiled,  and  murmured  as  they  do  now.  They 
probably  had  the  same  joys  and  sorrows  as  in  our  times.  But,  in 
these  times,  they  have  considerable  influence  on  the  government, 
the  religion,  the  literature,  and  the  social  life  of  nations.  In  the 
sixteenth  century,  this  influence  was  not  so  apparent ;  but  power 
of  all  kinds  seemed  to  emanate  from  kings  and  nobles ;  at  least 
from  wealthy  and  cultivated  classes.  When  this  is  the  case, 
when  kings  give  a  law  to  society,  history  is  not  unphilosophical 
which  recognizes  chiefly  their  enterprises  and  ideas. 

The  rise  of  absolute  monarchy  on  the  ruins  of  feudal  states  is 
one  of  the  chief  features  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries. 
There  was  every  where  a  strong  tendency  to  centralization. 
Provinces,  before  independent,  were  controlled  by  a  central 
government.  Standing  armies  took  the  place  of  feudal  armies. 
Kings  took  away  from  nobles  the  right  to  coin  money,  administer 
justice,  and  impose  taxes.  The  power  of  the  crown  became 
supreme  and  unlimited. 

But  some  monarchs  were  more  independent  than  others,  in  pro- 
portion as  the  power  of  nobles  was  suppressed,  or,  as  the  cities 
sided  with  the  central  government,  or,  as  provinces  were  con- 
nected and  bound  together.  The  power  of  Charles  V.  was  some- 
what limited,  in  Spain,  by  the  free  spirit  of  the  Cortes,  and,  in  Ger- 
many, by  the  independence  of  the  princes  of  the  empire.  But,  in 
France  and  England,  the  king  was  more  absolute,  although  he 
did  not  rule  over  so  great  extent  of  territory  as  did  the  emperor 
of  Germany  ;  and  this  is  one  reason  why  Francis  I.  proved  so 
strong  an  antagonist  to  his  more  powerful  rival. 


46  HENRY   VIII.  [chap.  IV. 

The  history  of  France,  during  the  reign  of  this  monarch,  is  also 
the  history  of  Charles  V.,  since  they  were  both  engaged  in  the 
same  wars  ;  which  wars  have  already  been  alluded  to.  Both  of 
these  monarchs  failed  in  the  objects  of  their  existence.  If  Charles 
did  not  realize  his  dream  of  universal  empire,  neither  did  Francis 
leave  his  kingdom,  at  his  death,  in  a  more  prosperous  state  than 
he  found  it. 

Francis  I.  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Henry  II.,  a  warlike  prince, 
but  destitute  of  prudence,  and  under  the  control  of  women.  His 
|X)licy,  however,  was  substantially  that  of  his  father,  and  he  con- 
tinued hostilities  against  the  emperor  of  Germany,  till  his  resigna- 
tion. He  was  a  bitter  persecutor  of  the  Protestants,  and  the  seeds 
of  subsequent  civil  wars  were  sown  by  his  zeal.  He  was  removed 
from  his  throne  prematurely,  being  killed  at  a  tournament,  in 
1559,  soon  after  the  death  of  Charles  V.  Tournaments  ceased 
with  his  death. 

The  reign  of  Henry  Vm.,  the  other  great  contemporary  of 
Charles  V.,  merits  a  larger  notice,  not  only  because  his  reign  was 
the  commencement  of  a  new  era  in  England,  but,  also,  because  the 
affairs,  which  engaged  his  attention,  are  not  much  connected  with 
continental  history. 

He  ascended  the  throne  in  the  year  1509,  in  his  eighteenth 
year,  without  opposition,  and  amid  the  universal  joy  of  the  nation ; 
for  his  manners  were  easy  and  frank,  his  disposition  was  cheerful, 
and  his  person  was  handsome.  He  had  made  respectable  literary 
attainments,  and  he  gave  promise  of  considerable  abilities.  He 
was  married,  soon  after  his  accession,  to  Catharine,  daughter  of 
the  King  of  Spain,  and  the  first  years  of  his  reign  were  happy, 
both  to  himself  and  to  his  subjects.  He  had  a  well-filled  treasury, 
which  his  father  had  amassed  with  great  care,  a  devoted  people, 
and  an  obedient  parliament.  All  circumstances  seemed  to  con 
spire  to  strengthen  his  power,  and  to  make  him  the  arbiter  of 
Europe. 

But  this  state  did  not  last  long.  The  young  king  was  resolved 
to  make  war  on  France,  but  was  diverted  from  his  aim  by  troubles 
in  Scotland,  growing  out  of  his  own  rapacity  —  a  trait  which  ever 
peculiarly  distinguished  him.  These  troubles  resulted  in  a  war 
with  the  Scots,  who  were  defeated  at  the  memorable  battle  of 


I 


CHAP.  IV.]  RISE    OF    CARDINAL    WOLSEY.  47 

Flodden  Field,  which  Sir  Waher  Scott,  in  his  Marmion,  has  im- 
mortalized. The  Scotch  commanders,  Lenox  and  Argyle,  both 
perished,  as  well  as  the  valiant  King  James  himself.  There  is 
scarcely  an  illustrious  Scotch  family  who  had  not  an  ancestor  slain 
on  that  fatal  day,  September  9,  1513.  But  the  victory  was  dearly 
bought,  and  Surrey,  the  English  general,afterwardsDuke  of  Nor- 
folk, was  unable  to  pursue  his  advantages. 

About  this  time,  the  celebrated  Cardinal  Wolsey  began  to  act  a 
conspicuous  part  in  English  affairs.  His  father  was  a  butcher  of 
Ipswich ;  but  was  able  to  give  his  son  a  good  education.  He 
studied  at  Oxford,  was  soon  distinguished  for  his  attainments,  and 
became  tutor  to  the  sons  of  the  Marquis  of  Dorset.  The  marquis 
gave  him  the  rich  living  of  Limington ;  but  the  young  parson,  with 
his  restless  ambition,  and  love  of  excitement  and  pleasure,  was 
soon  wearied  of  a  country  life.  He  left  his  parish  to  become  do- 
mestic chaplain  to  the  treasurer  of  Calais.  This  post  introduced 
him  to  Fox,  bishop  of  Winchester,  who  shared  with  the  Earl  of 
Surrey  the  highest  favors  of  royalty.  The  minister  and  diplomatist, 
finding  in  the  young  man  learning,  tact,  vivacity,  and  talent  for 
business,  introduced  him  to  the  king,  hoping  that  he  would  prove 
an  agreeable  companion  for  Henry,  and  a  useful  tool  for  himself. 
But  those  who  are  able  to  manage  other  people's  business,  gen- 
erally are  able  to  manage  their  own.  The  tool  of  Fox  looked 
after  his  own  interest  chiefly.  He  supplanted  his  master  in  the 
royal  favor,  and  soon  acquired  more  favor  and  influence  at  court 
than  any  of  the  ministers  or  favorites.  Though  twenty  years  older 
than  Henry,  he  adapted  himself  to  all  his  tastes,  flattered  his  vanity 
and  passions,  and  became  his  bosom  friend.  He  gossiped  with 
him  about  Thomas  Aquinas,  the  Indies,  and  aflairs  of  gallantry. 
He  was  a  great  refiner  of  sensual  pleasures,  had  a  passion  for 
magnificence  and  display,  and  a  real  genius  for  court  entertain- 
ments. He  could  eat  and  drink  with  the  gayest  courtiers,  sing 
merry  songs,  and  join  in  the  dance.  He  was  blunt  and  frank  in 
his  manners ;  but  these  only  concealed  craft  and  cunning.  "  It  is 
art  to  conceal  art,"  and  Wolsey  was  a  master  of  all  the  tricks  of 
dissimulation.  He  rose  rapidly  after  he  had  once  gained  the  heart 
of  the  king.  He  became  successively  dean  of  York,  papal  legate, 
cardinal,  bishop  of  Lincoln,  archbishop  of  York,  and  lord  chancellor. 


48  MAGNIFICENCE    OF   HENRY   VIII.  fcHAP.  IV. 

He  also  obtained  tlie  administration  and  the  temporalities  of  the 
rich  abbey  of  St.  Albans,  and  of  the  bishoprics  of  Bath  and  Wells, 
Durham  and  Winchester.  By  these  gifts,  his  revenues  almost 
equalled  those  of  the  crown ;  and  he  squandered  them  in  a  style  of 
unparalleled  extravagance.  Ho  dressed  in  purple  and  gold,  sup- 
ported a  train  of  eight  hundred  persons,  and  built  Hampton  Court. 
He  was  the  channel  through  which  the  royal  favors  flowed.  But 
he  made  a  good  chancellor,  dispensed  justice,  repressed  the  power 
of  the  nobles,  encouraged  and  rewarded  literary  men,  and  endowed 
colleges.  He  was  the  most  magnificent  and  the  most  powerful 
subject  that  England  has  ever  seen.  Even  nobles  were  proud  to 
join  his  train  of  dependants.  There  was  nothing  sordid  or  vulgar, 
however,  in  all  his  ostentation.  Henry  took  pleasure  in  his  pomp, 
for  it  was  a  reflection  of  the  greatness  of  his  own  majesty. 

The  first  years  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  after  the  battle  of 
Flodden  Field,  were  spent  in  pleasure,  and  in  great  public  displays 
of  magnificence,  which  charmed  the  people,  and  made  him  a 
popular  idol.  Among  these,  the  interview  of  the  king  with  Fran- 
cis I.  is  the  most  noted,  on  the  4th  of  June,  1520;  the  most  gor- 
geous pageant  of  the  sixteenth  century,  designed  by  Wolsey,  who 
had  a  genius  for  such  things.  The  monarchs  met  in  a  beautiful 
valley,  where  jousts  and  tournaments  were  held,  and  where  was 
exhibited  all  the  magnificence  which  the  united  resources  of 
France  and  England  could  command.  The  interview  was  sought 
by  Francis  to  win,  through  Wolsey,  the  favor  of  the  king,  and  to 
counterbalance  the  advantages  which  it  was  supposed  Charles  V. 
had  gained  on  a  previous  visit  to  the  king  at  Dover. 

The  getting  up  of  the  "  Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold "  created 
some  murmurs  among  the  English  nobility,  many  of  whom  were 
injured  by  the  expensive  tastes  of  Wolsey.  Among  these  was  the 
Duke  of  Buckingham,  hereditary  high  constable  of  England,  and 
connected  with  the  royal  house  of  the  Plantagenets.  Henry,  from 
motives  of  jealousy,  both  on  account  of  his  birth  and  fortune,  had 
long  singled  him  out  as  his  victim.  He  was,  also,  obnoxious  to 
Wolsey,  since  he  would  not  flatter  his  pride,  and  he  had,  moreover, 
insulted  him.  It  is  very  easy  for  a  king  to  find  a  pretence  for 
committing  a  crime ;  and  Buckingham  was  arrested,  tried,  and  ex- 
ecuted, for  making  traitorous  prophecies.     His  real  crime  was  in 


CHAP.  IV.]  ANNE    BOLEYN.  49 

being  more  powerful  than  it  suited  the  policy  of  the  king.  With 
the  death  of  Stafford,  Duke  of  Buckingham,  in  1521,  commenced 
the  bloody  cruelty  of  Henry  VIII. 

Soon  after  the  death  of  Buckingham,  the  king  made  himself 
notorious  for  his  theological  writings  against  Luther,  whose  doc- 
trines he  detested.  He  ever  had  a  taste  for  theological  disputa- 
tion, and  a  love  of  the  schoolmen.  His  tracts  against  Luther, 
very  respectable  for  talent  and  learning,  though  disgraced  by 
coarse  and  vulgar  vituperation,  secured  for  him  the  favor  of  the 
pope,  who  bestowed  upon  him  the  title  of  "  Defender  of  the 
Faith ; "  and  a  strong  alliance  existed  between  them  until  the 
divorce  of  Queen  Catharine. 

The  difficulties  and  delays,  attending  this  act  of  cruelty  and 
injustice,  constitute  no  small  part  of  the  domestic  history  of  Eng- 
land during  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  Any  event,  which  furnishes 
subjects  of  universal  gossip  and  discussion,  is  ever  worthy  of  his- 
torical notice,  inasmuch  as  it  shows  prevailing  opinions  and  tastes. 

Queen  Catharine,  daughter  of  Ferdinand,  King  of  Spain,  was 
eight  years  older  than  her  husband,  whom  she  married  in  the  first 
year  of  his  reign.  She  had-  been  previously  married  to  his  brother 
Arthur,  who  died  of  the  plague  in  1502.  For  several  years  after 
her  marriage  with  Henry  VIII.,  her  domestic  happiness  was  a 
subject  of  remark;  and  the  emperor,  Charles  V.,  congratulated  her 
on  her  brilliant  fortune.  She  was  beautiful,  sincere,  accomplished, 
religious,  and  disinterested,  and  every  way  calculated  to  secure,  as 
she  had  won,  the  king's  affections. 

But  among  her  maids  of  honor  there  was  one  peculiarly  ac- 
complished and  fascinating,  to  whom  the  king  transferred  his 
affections  with  unwonted  vehemence.  This  was  Anne  Boleyn, 
daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  Boleyn,  who,  from  his  great  wealth,  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Howard,  daughter  of  the  first  duke  of  Norfolk. 
This  noble  alliance  brought  Sir  Thomas  Boleyn  into  close  connec- 
tion with  royalty,  and  led  to  the  appointment  of  his  daughter  to 
the  high  post  which  she  held  at  the  court  of  Queen  Catharine.  It 
is  probable  that  the  king  suppressed  his  passion  for  some  time ;  and 
it  would  have  been  longer  concealed,  even  from  its  object,  had  not 
his  jealousy  been  excited  by  her  attachment  to  Percy,  son  of  the 
Earl  of  Northumberland.  The  king  at  last  made  known  his  pas- 
5  E 


50  QUEEN   CATHARINE.  [cHAP.  IV. 

sion ;  but  the  daughter  of  the  Howards  was  too  proud,  or  too  politic, 
or  too  high  principled,  to  listen  to  his  overtures.  It  was  only  as 
queen  of  England^  that  she  would  return  the  passion  of  her  royal 
lover.  Moreover,  she  resolved  to  be  revenged  on  the  all-powerful 
cardinal,  for  assisting  in  her  separation  from  Percy,  whom  she 
loved  with  romantic  attachment.  The  king  waited  four  years,  but 
Anne  reniained  inflexibly  virtuous.  He  then  meditated  the  divorce 
from  Catharine,  as  the  only  way  to  accomplish  the  object  which 
now  seemed  to  animate  his  existence.  He  confided  tlie  matter 
to  his  favorite  minister ;  but  Wolsey  was  thunderstruck  at  the 
disclosure,  and  remained  with  him  four  hours  on  his  knees,  to 
dissuade  him  from  a  step  which  he  justly  regarded  as  madness. 
Here  Wolsey  appears  as  an  honest  man  and  a  true  friend ;  but 
royal  infatuation  knows  neither  wisdom,  justice,  nor  humanity. 
Wolsey,  as  a  man  of  the  world,  here  made  a  blunder,  and  departed 
from  the  policy  he  had  hitherto  pursued  —  that  of  flattering  the 
humors  of  his  absolute  master.  Wolsey,  however,  recommended 
the  king  to  consult  the  divines  ;  for  Heniy  pretended  that,  after 
nearly  twenty  years  of  married  life,  he  had  conscientious  scruples 
about  the  lawfulness  of  his  marriage.  The  learned  English  doc- 
tors were  afraid  to  pronounce  their  opinions,  and  suggested  a  refer- 
ence to  the  fathers.  But  the  king  was  not  content  with  their 
authority ;  he  appealed  to  the  pope,  and  to  the  decisions  of  half  of 
the  universities  of  Europe.  It  seems  very  singular  that  a  sovereign 
so  unprincipled,  unscrupulous,  and  passionate,  and  yet  so  absolute 
and  powerful  as  was  Henry,  should  have  wasted  his  time  and  money 
in  seeking  countenance  to  an  act  on  which  he  was  fully  deter- 
mined, and  which  countenance  he  never  could  reasonably  hope 
to  secure.  But  his  character  was  made  up  of  contradictions. 
His  caprice,  violence,  and  want  of  good  faith,  were  strangely 
blended  with  superstition  and  reverence  for  the  authority  of  the 
church.  His  temper  urged  him  to  the  most  rigorous  measure  of 
injustice ;  and  his  injustice  produced  no  shame,  although  he  was 
restrained  somewhat  by  the  opinions  of  the  very  men  whom  he 
did  not  hesitate  to  murder. 

Queen  Catharine,  besides  being  a  virtuous  and  excellent  woman, 
was  powerfully  allied,  and  was  a  zealous  Catholic.  Her  repudia- 
tion, therefore,  could  not  take  place  without  oflTending  the  very 


CHAP.  IV.]  DISGRACE    AND    DEATH    OF    WOLSEY.  51 

persons  whose  favor  the  king  was  most  anxious  to  conciliate, 
especially  the  Emperor  Charles,  her  nephew,  and  the  pope,  and 
all  the  high  dignitaries  and  adherents  of  the  church.  Even 
Wolsey  could  not  in  honor  favor  the  divorce,  although  it  was  his 
policy  to  do  so.  In  consequence  of  his  intrigues,  and  the  scandal 
and  offence  so  outrageous  an  act  as  the-  divorce  of  Catharine  must 
necessarily  produce  throughout  the  civilized  world,  Henry  long 
delayed  to  bring  the  matter  to  a  crisis,  being  afraid  of  a  war  with 
Charles  V.,  and  of  the  anathemas  of  the  pope.  Moreover,  he 
hoped  to  gain  him  over,  for  the  pope  had  sent  Cardinal  Campeggio 
to  London,  to  hold,  with  his  legate  Wolsey,  a  court  to  hear  the 
case.  But  it  was  the  farthest  from  his  intention  to  grant  the 
divorce,  for  the  pope  was  more  afraid  of  Charles  V.  than  he 
was  of  Henry  VIII. 

The  court  settled  nothing,  and  the  king's  wrath  now  turned 
towards  Wolsey,  whom  he  suspected  of  secretly  thwarting  his 
measures.  The  accomplished  courtier,  so  long  accustomed  to  the 
smiles  and  favors  of  royalty,  could  not  bear  his  disgrace  with  dig- 
nity. The  proudest  man  in  England  became,  all  at  once,  the 
meanest.  He  wept,  he  cringed,  he  lost  his  spirits  ;  he  surrendered 
his  palace,  his  treasures,  his  honors,  and  his  offices,  into  the  hands 
of  him  who  gave  them  to  him,  without  a  single  expostulation  : 
wrote  most  abject  letters  to  "  his  most  gracious,  most  merciful,  and 
most  pious  sovereign  lord  ;  "  and  died  of  a  broken  heart  on  his  way 
to  a  prison  and  the  scaffold.  "  Had  I  but  served  my  God  as  dili- 
gently as  I  have  served  the  king,  he  would  not  have  given  me 
over  in  my  gray  hairs"  —  these  were  the  words  of  the  dying 
cardinal ;  his  sad  confessions  on  experiencing  the  vanity  of  human 
life.  But  the  vindictive  prince  suffered  no  word  of  sorrow  or 
regret  to  escape  him,  when  he  heard  of  the  death  of  his  prime 
minister,  and  his  intimate  friend  for  twenty  years. 

Shortly  after  the  disgrace  of  Wolsey,  which  happened  near.y 
a  year  before  his  death,  (1529,)  three  remarkable  men  began  to 
figure  in  English  politics  and  history.  These  were  Sir  Thomas 
More,  Thomas  Cranmer,  and  Thomas  Cromwell.  More  was  the 
most  accomplished,  most  learned,  and  most  enlightened  of  the 
three.  He  was  a  Catholic,  but  very  exemplary  in  his  life,  and 
charitable   in  his  views.     In  moral  elevation  of  character,  and 


58  MORE — CRANMER  —  CROMWELL.  [CHAP.  IV. 

beautiful  serenity  of  soul,  the  annals  of  the  great  men  of  his 
country  furnish  no  superior.  His  extensive  erudition  and  moral 
integrity  alone  secured  him  the  official  station  which  Wolsey  held 
as  lord  chancellor.  He  was  always  the  intimate  friend  of  the  king ; 
and  his  conversation,  so  enlivened  by  wit,  and  so  rich  and  varied  in 
matter,  caused  his  society  to  be  universally  sought.  He  discharged 
his  duties  with  singular  conscientiousness  and  ability ;  and  no  one 
ever  had  cause  to  complain  that  justice  was  not  rendered  him. 

Cranmer's  elevation  was  owing  to  a  fortunate  circumstance,  not- 
withstanding his  exalted  merit.  He  happened  to  say,  while  tutor 
to  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Cressy,  in  the  hearing  of  Dr.  Gar- 
diner, then  secretary  to  Henry,  that  the  proper  way  to  settle  the 
difficulty  about  the  divorce  was,  to  appeal  to  learned  men,  who 
would  settle  the  matter  on  the  sole  authority  of  the  Bible,  without 
reference  to  the  pope.  This  remaric  was  reported  to  the  king,  and 
Cranmer  was  sent  to  reside  with  the  father  of  Anne  Boleyn,  and 
was  employed  in  writing  a  treatise  to  support  his  opinion.  His 
ability  led  to  further  honors,  until,  on  the  death  of  Warham,  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  he  was  appointed  to  the  vacant  see,  the  first 
office  in  dignity  and  importance  in  the  kingdom,  dnd  from  which 
no  king,  however  absolute,  could  eject  him,  except  by  the  loss  of 
life.  We  shall  see  that,  in  all  matters  of  religion,  Cranmer  was 
the  ruling  spirit  in  England  until  the  accession  of  Mary. 

Cromwell's  origin  was  even  more  obscure  than  that  of  Wolsey's  ; 
but  he  received  his  education  at  one  of  the  universities.  We  first 
hear  of  him  as  a  clerk  in  an  English  factory  at  Antwerp,  then  as  a 
soldier  in  the  army  of  the  Constable  Bourbon  when  it  sacked  Rome, 
then  as  a  clerk  in  a  mercantile  house  in  Venice,  and  then  again 
as  a  lawyer  in  England,  where  he  attracted  the  attention  of  Wol- 
^:'ey,  who  made  him  his  solicitor,  and  employed  him  in  the  disso- 
lution of  monasteries.  He  then  became  a  member  of  the  house  of 
commons,  where  his  address  and  business  talents  were  conspicuous. 
He  was  well  received  at  court,  and  confirmed  in  the  stewardship 
of  the  monasteries,  after  the  disgrace  of  his  master.  His  office 
brought  him  often  into  personal  conference  A^ith  the  king  ;  and,  at 
one  of  these,  he  recommended  him  to  deny  the  authority  of  the 
pope  altogether,  and  declare  himself  supreme  head  of  the  church. 
The  boldness  of  this  advice  was  congenial  to  the  temper  of  the, 


CHAP.  IV.]  QUARREL  WITH  THE  POPE.  53 

king,  worried  by  the  opposition  of  Rome  to  his  intended  divorce, 
and  Cromwell  became  a  member  of  the  privy  council.  His 
fortune  was  thus  made  by  his  seasonable  advice.  All  who  opposed 
the  king  were  sure  to  fall,  and  all  who  favored  him  were  sure 
to  rise,  as  must  ever  be  the  case  in  an  absolute  monarchy,  where 
the  king  is  the  centre  and  the  fountain  -of  all  honor  and  dignity. 

With  such  ministers  as  Cranmer  and  Cromwell,  the  measures 
of  Henry  were  now  prompt  and  bold.  Queen  Catharine  was  soon 
disposed  of ;  she  was  divorced  and  disgraced,  and  Anne  Boleyn 
was  elevated  to  her  throne,  (1533.)  The  anathemas  of  the  pope 
and  the  outcry  of  all  Europe  followed.  Sir  Thomas  More 
resigned  the  seals,  and  retired  to  poverty  and  solitude.  But  ho 
was  not  permitted  to  enjoy  his  retirement  long.  Refusing  to  take 
the  oath  of  supremacy  to  Henry,  as  head  of  the  church  as  well  as 
of  the  state,  he  was  executed,  with  other  illustrious  Catholics. 
The  execution  of  More  was  the  most  cruel  and  uncalled-for  act 
of  the  whole  reign,  and  entailed  on  its  author  the  execrations  of 
all  the  learned  and  virtuous  men  in  Europe,  most  of  whom  appre- 
ciated the  transcendent  excellences  of  the  murdered  chancellor, 
the  author  of  the  Utopia,  and  the  Boethius  of  his  age. 

The  fulminations  of  the  pope  only  excited  Henry  to  more 
aecided  opposition.  The  parliament,  controlled  by  Cromwell, 
acknowledged  him  as  the  supreme  head  of  the  Church  of  England, 
and  the  separation  from  Rome  was  final  and  irrevocable.  The 
tenths  were  annexed  to  the  crown,  and  the  bishops  took  a  new 
oath  of  supremacy. 

The  independence  of  the  Church  of  England,  effected  in  1535, 
was  followed  by  important  consequences,  and  was  the  first  step 
to  the  reformation,  afterwards  perfected  by  Edward  VI.  But  as 
the  first  acts  of  the  reformation  were  prompted  by  political  con- 
siderations, the  reformers  in  England,  during  the  reign  of  Henr}^ 
VIII.,  should  be  considered  chiefly  in  a  political  point  of  view. 
The  separation  from  Rome,  during  the  reign  of  this  prince,  was 
not  followed  by  the  abolition  of  the  Roman  Catholic  worship, 
nor  any  of  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  that  church.  Nor  was 
religious  toleration  secured.  Every  thing  was  subservient  to  the 
royal  conscience,  and  a  secular,  instead  of  an  ecclesiastical  pope, 
still  reigned  in  England. 

5* 


54  ABOLITION   OF   MONASTERIES.  [cHAP.  IV. 

Henry  soon  found  that  his  new  position,  as  head  of  the  English 
Church, imposed  new  duties  and  cares  :  he  tlicrefore  established  a 
separate  department  for  the  conduct  of  ecclesiastical  affairs,  over 
which  he  placed  tlie  unscrupulous,  but  energetic  Cromwell — a  fit 
minister  to  such  a  monarch.  A  layman,  who  hated  the  clergy, 
and  who  looked  solely  to  the  pecuniary  interests  of  his  master, 
was  thus  placed  over  the  highest  prelates  of  the  church.  But 
Cromwell,  m  consulting  the  pecuniary  interests  of  the  king,  also 
had  an  eye  to  the  political  interests  of  the  kingdom.  He  was  a 
sagacious  and  practical  man  of  the  world,  and  was  disgusted  with 
the  vices  of  tlie  clergy,  and  especially  with  the  custom  of  sending 
money  to  Rome,  in  the  shape  of  annates  and  taxes.  This  evil 
he  remedied,  which  tended  greatly  to  enrich  the  country,  for  the 
popes  at  this  time  were  peculiarly  extortionate.  He  then  turned 
his  attention  to  the  reform  of  the  whole  monastic  institution,  but 
with  an  eye  also  to  its  entire  destruction.  Cromwell  hated  the 
monks.  They  were  lazy,  ignorant,  and  debauched.  They  were 
a  great  burden  on  the  people,  and  were  as  insolent  and  proud  as 
they  were  idle  and  profligate.  The  country  swarmed  with  them. 
The  roads,  taverns,  and  the  houses  of  the  credulous  were  infested 
with  them.  Cranmer,  who  sympathized  with  the  German  reform- 
ers, hated  them  on  religious  grounds,  and  readily  cooperated  with 
Cromwell ;  while  the  king,  whose  extortion  and  rapacity  knew  no 
bounds,  listened,  with  glistening  eye,  to  the  suggestions  of  his  two 
favorite  ministers.  The  nation  was  suddenly  astounded  with  the 
intelligence  that  parliament  had  passed  a  bill,  giving  to  the  king 
and  his  heirs  all  the  monastic  establishments  in  the  kingdom,  which 
did  not  exceed  two  hundred  pounds  a  year.  Three  hundred  and 
eighty  thus  fell  at  a  blow,  whereby  the  king  was  enriched  by 
thirty-two  thousand  pounds  a  year,  and  one  hundred  thousand 
pounds  ready  money — an  immense  sum  in  that  age.  By  this  spo- 
liation, perhaps  called  for,  but  exceedingly  unjust  and  harsh,  and 
in  violation  of  all  the  rights  of  property,  thousands  were  reduced 
to  beggary  and  misery,  while  there  was  scarcely  an  eminent  man 
in  the  kingdom  who  did  not  come  in  for  a  share  of  the  plunder. 
Vast  grants  of  lands  were  bestowed  by  the  king  on  his  favorites 
and  courtiers,  in  order  to  appease  the  nation ;  and  thus  the  founda 
tions  of  many  of  the  great  estates  of  the  English  nobilitv  were 


CHAP.   IV.]  SUPPRESSION    OF    MONASTERIES.  55 


^ 


laid.  The  spoliations,  however,  led  to  many  serious  riots  and 
insurrections,  especially  in  Lincolnshire.  At  one  place  there  were 
forty  thousand  rebels  under  arms ;  but  they  were  easily  suppressed. 

The  rapacious  king  was  not  satisfied  with  the  plunder  he  had 
secured,  and,  in  1539,  the  final  suppression  of  all  the  monasteries 
in  England  was  decreed.  Then  followed  the  seizure  of  all  the 
church  property  in  England  connected  with  monasteries — shrines, 
relics,  gold  and  silver  vessels  of  immense  value  and  rarity,  lands, 
and  churches.  Canterbury,  Bath,  Merton,  Stratford,  Bury  St.  Ed- 
monds, Glastonbury,  and  St.  Albans,  suffered  most,  and  many  of 
those  beautiful  monuments  of  Gothic  architecture  were  levelled  with 
the  dust.  Their  destruction  deprived  the  people  of  many  physical 
accommodations,  for  they  had  been  hospitals  and  caravansaries,  as 
well  as  "  cages  of  unclean  birds."  Neither  the  church  nor  the 
universities  profited  much  from  the  confiscation  of  so  much  prop- 
erty, and  only  six  new  bishoprics  were  formed,  and  only  fourteen 
abbeys  were  converted  into  cathedrals  and  collegiate  churches. 
The  king  and  the  nobles  were  the  only  gainers  by  the  spoil ;  the 
people  obtained  no  advantage  in  that  age,  although  they  have  in 
succeeding  ages. 

After  renouncing  the  pope's  supremacy,  and  suppressing  the 
monasteries,  where  were  collected  the  treasures  of  the  middle  ages, 
one  would  naturally  suppose  that  the  king  would  have  gone  farther, 
and  changed  the  religion  of  his  people.  But  Henry  hated  Luther 
and  his  doctrines,  and  did  not  hate  the  pope,  or  the  religion  of 
which  he  was  the  sovereign  pontiff.  He  loved  gold  and  new 
wives  better  than  the  interests  of  the  Catholic  church.  Reform 
proceeded  no  farther  in  his  reign  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  he 
caused  a  decree  to  pass  both  houses  of  his  timid,  complying  par- 
liament, by  which  the  doctrines  of  transubstantiation,  the  com- 
munion of  one  kind,  the  celibacy  of  the  clergy,  masses,  and  auric- 
ular confession,  were  established  ;  and  any  departure  from,  or  denial 
of,  these  subjected  the  offender  to  the  punishment  of  death. 

But  Henry  had  new  domestic  difficulties  long  before  the  sup- 
pression of  monasteries  —  the  great  political  act  of  Thomas  Crom- 
well. His  new  wife,  Anne  Boleyn,  was  suspected  of  the  crime  of 
inconstancy,  and  at  the  very  time  when  she  had  reached  the 
summit  of  power,  and  the  gratification  of  all  worldly  wishes.     She 


56  EXECUTION  OF  ANNE  BOLEYN.        [CHAP.  IV. 

had  been  rery  vain,  and  fond  of  display  and  of  ornaments ;  but 
the  latter  years  of  her  life  were  marked  by  her  munificence,  and 
attachment  to  tlie  reform  doctrines.  But  her  power  ceased  almost 
as  soon  as  she  became  queen.  She  could  win,  but  she  could  not 
retain,  the  affections  of  her  royal  husband.  His  passion  subsided 
into  languor,  and  ended  in  disgust.  The  beauty  of  Anne  Boleyn 
was  soon  forgotten  when  Jane  Seymour,  her  maid  of  honor, 
attracted  the  attention  of  Henry.  To  make  this  lady  his  wife  now 
became  the  object  of  his  life,  and  this  could  only  be  effected  by 
the  divorce  of  his  queen,  who  gave  occasion  for  scandal  by  the 
levity  and  freedom  of  her  manners.  Henry -believed  every  insin- 
uation against  her,  because  he  wished  to  believe  her  guilty.  There 
was  but  a  step  between  the  belief  of  guilt  and  the  resolution  to 
destroy  her.  She  was  committed  to  the  Tower,  impeached,  brought 
to  trial,  condemned  without  evidence,  and  executed  without  re- 
morse. Even  Cranmer,  whom  she  had  honored  and  befriended, 
dared  not  defend  her,  although  he  must  have  believed  in  her  inno- 
cence. He  knew  the  temper  of  the  master  whom  he  served  too  well 
to  risk  much  in  her  defence.  She  was  the  first  woman  who  had  been 
beheaded  in  the  annals  of  England.  Not  one  of  the  Plantagenet 
kings  ever  murdered  a  woman.  But  the  age  of  chivalry  was  past, 
and  the  sentiments  it  encouraged  found  no  response  in  the  bosom 
of  such  a  sensual  and  vindictive  monarch  as  was  Henry  VIII. 

The  very  day  after  the  execution  of  that  accomplished  lady,  for 
whose  sake  the  king  had  squandered  the  treasures  of  his  kingdom, 
and  had  kept  Christendom  in  a  ferment,  he  married  Jane  Seymour, 
"  the  fairest,  discreetest,  and  most  meritorious  of  all  his  wives,"  as 
the  historians  say,  yet  a  woman  who  did  not  hesitate  to  steal  the 
affections  of  Henry  and  receive  his  addresses,  while  his  queen  was 
devoted  to  her  husband.  But  Anne  Boleyn  had  done  so  before 
her,  and  suffered  a  natural  retribution. 

Jane  Seymour  lived  only  eighteen  months  after  her  marriage, 
and  died  two  days  after  giving  birth  to  a  son,  afterwards  Edward 
VI.  She  was  one  of  those  passive  women  who  make  neither 
friends  nor  enemies.  She  indulged  in  no  wit  or  repartee,  like  her 
brilliant  but  less  beautiful  predecessor,  and  she  passed  her  regal 
life  without  uttering  a  sentence  or  a  sentiment  which  has  been 
deemed  worthy  of  preservation. 


CHAP.  IV. J       ANNE    OF   CLEVES CATHARINE    HOWARD.  57 

She  had  been  dead  about  a  month,  when  the  king  looked  round 
for  another  wife,  and  besought  Francis  I.  to  send  the  most  beauti- 
ful ladies  of  his  kingdom  to  Calais,  that  he  might  there  inspect 
them,  and  select  one  according  to  his  taste.  But  this  Oriental 
notion  was  not  indulged  by  the  French  king,  who  had  more  taste 
and  delicacy ;  and  Henry  remained  without  a  wife  for  more  than 
two  years,  the  princesses  of  Europe  not  being  very  eager  to 
put  themselves  in  the  power  of  this  royal  Bluebeard.  At  last,  at 
the  suggestion  of  Cromwell,  he  was  affianced  to  Anne,  daughter 
of  the  Duke  of  Cleves,  whose  home  was  on  the  banks  of  the 
Rhine,  in  the  city  of  Dusseldorf. 

The  king  no  sooner  set  his  eyes  on  her  than  he  was  disappointed 
and  disgusted,  and  gave  vent  to  his  feelings  before  Cromwell, 
calling  her  a  "  great  Flanders  mare."  Nevertheless,  he  consum- 
mated his  marriage,  although  his  disgust  constantly  increased. 
This  mistake  of  Cromwell  was  fatal  to  his  ambitious  hopes.  The 
king  vented  on  him  all  the  displeasure  which  had  been  gathering 
in  his  embittered  soul.  Cromwell's  doom  was  sealed.  He  had 
offended  an  absolute  monarch.  He  was  accused  of  heresy  and 
treason,  —  the  common  accusations  in  that  age  against  men  devoted 
to  destruction, —  tried  by  a  servile  board  of  judges,  condemned,  and 
judicially  murdered,  in  1540.  In  his  misfortunes,  he  showed  no 
more  fortitude  than  Wolsey.  The  atmosphere  of  a  court  is  fatal 
to  all  moral  elevation. 

But,  before  his  execution,  Anne  of  Cleves,  a  virtuous  and 
worthy  woman,  was  divorced,  and  Catharine  Howard,  grand- 
daughter of  the  victor  of  Flodden  Field,  became  queen  of  Eng- 
land. The  king  now  fancied  that  his  domestic  felicity  was  com- 
plete ;  but,  soon  after  his  marriage,  it  was  discovered  that  his  wife 
had  formerly  led  a  dissolute  life,  and  had  been  unfaithful  also  to 
her  royal  master.  '  When  the  proofs  of  her  incontinence  were 
presented  to  him,  he  burst  into  a  flood  of  tears ;  but  soon  his  natu- 
ural  ferocity  returned,  and  his  guilty  wife  expiated  her  crime  by 
aeath  on  the  scaffold,  in  1542. 

Henry's  sixth  and  last  wife  was  Catharine  Parr,  relict  of  Lord 
Latimer,  a  woman  of  great  sagacity,  prudence,  and  good  sense. 
She  favored  the  reformers,  but  had  sufficient  address  to  keep  hei 
opinions  from  the  king,  who  would  have  executed  her,  had  hi; 


58  LAST   DAYS    OF    HENBY.  [cHAP.  IV. 

suspected  her  real  views.  She  survived  her  husband,  who  died 
four  years  after  her  marriage,  in  1547. 

The  last  years  of  any  tyrant  are  always  melancholy,  and  those 
of  Henry  were  embittered  by  jealousies  and  domestic  troubles. 
His  finances  were  deranged,  his  treasury  exhausted,  and  his  sub- 
jects discontented.  He  was  often  at  war  with  tlie  Scots,  and 
different  continental  powers.  He  added  religious  persecution  to 
his  other  bad  traits,  and  executed,  for  their  opinions,  some  of  the 
best  people  in  the  kingdom.  His  father  had  left  him  the  richest 
sovereign  of  Europe,  and  he  had  seized  tlie  abbey  lands,  and 
extorted  heavy  sums  from  his  oppressed  people ;  and  yet  he  was 
poor.  All  his  wishes  were  apparently  gratified ;  and  yet  he  was 
the  most  miserable  man  in  his  dominions.  He  exhausted  all  the 
sources  of  pleasure,  and  nothing  remained  but  satiety  and  disgust. 
His  mind  and  his  body  were  alike  diseased.  His  inordinate  glut- 
tony made  him  most  inconveniently  corpulent,  and  produced  ulcers 
and  the  gout.  It  was  dangerous  to  approach  this  "  corrupt  mass 
of  dying  tyranny."  It  was  impossible  to  please  him,  and  the 
least  contradiction  drove  him  into  fits  of  madness  and  frenzy. 

In  his  latter  days,  he  ordered,  in  a  fit  of  jealousy,  the  execution 
of  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  the  first  nobleman  of  the  kingdom,  who 
had  given  offence  to  the  Earl  of  Hertford,  uncle  to  the  young 
prince  of  Wales,  and  the  founder  of  the  greatness  of  the  Sey- 
mours. But  the  tyrant  died  before  the  sentence  was  carried  into 
effect,  much  to  the  joy  of  the  good  people  of  England,  whom  he 
had  robbed  and  massacred.  Several  thousands  perished  by  the  ax<i 
of  the  executioner  during  his  disgraceful  reign,  and  some  of  them 
were  the  lights  of  the  age,  and  the  glory  of  their  country. 

Tyrannical  as  was  Henry  VIII.,  still  he  ever  ruled  by  the  laws. 
He  did  not  abolish  parliament,  or  retrench  its  privileges.  The 
parliament  authorized  all  his  taxes,  and  gave  sanction  to  all  his 
violent  measures.  The  parliament  was  his  supple  instrument ; 
still,  had  the  parliament  resisted  his  will,  doubtless  he  would  have 
dissolved  it,  as  did  the  Stuart  princes.  But  it  was  not,  in  his  reign, 
prepared  for  resistance,  and  the  king  had  every  thing  after  his 
own  way. 

By  nature,  he  was  amiable,  generous,  and  munificent.  But  his 
temper  was  spoiled   by   self-indulgence   and   incessant   flattery. 


CHAP.  IV.]  DEATH    OF    HENRY    VIII.  59 

The  moroseness  he  exhibited  in  his  latter  days  was  partly  the 
effect  of  physical  disease,  brought  about,  indeed,  by  intemperance 
ixnd  gluttony.  He  was  faithful  to  his  wives,  so  long  as  he  lived 
with  them  ;  and,  while  he  doted  on  them,  listened  to  their  advice. 
But  few  of  his  advisers  dared  tell  him  the  truth  ;  and  Cranmer 
himself  can  never  be  exculpated  from,  flattering  his  perverted 
conscience.  No  one  had  the  courage  to  tell  him  he  was  dying 
but  one  of  the  nobles  of  the  court.  He  died,  in  great  iirony,  June, 
1547,  in  the  thirty-eighth  year  of  his  reign,  and  the  fifty-sixth  of 
his  age,  and  was  buried,  with  great  pomp,  in  St.  George  Chapel, 
Windsor  Castle. 


References.  —  The  best  English  histories  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII. 
are  the  standard  ones  of  Hxime  and  Lingard.  The  Pictorial  History,  in 
spite  of  its  pictures,  is  also  excellent.  Burnet  should  be  consulted  in 
reference  to  ecclesiastical  matters,  and  Hallam,  in  reference  to  the  consti- 
tution. See  also  the  lives  of  Wolsey,  Sir  Thomas  More,  and  Cranmer. 
The  lives  of  Henry's  queens  have  been  best  narrated  by  Agnes  Strickland 


WAR  WITH  SCOTLAND.  [CHAP. 


CHAPTER   V. 

EDWARD   VI.  AND  MARY. 

Henry  VIII.  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Edward  VI.,  a  boy  of 
nine  years  of  age,  learned,  pious,  and  precocious.  Still  he  was 
a  boy ;  and,  as  such,  W£is  a  king  but  in  name.  The  history  of  his 
reign  is  the  history  of  the  acts  of  his  ministers. 

The  late  king  left  a  will,  appointing  sixteen  persons,  mostly 
members  of  his  council,  to  be  guardians  of  his  son,  and  rulers  of 
the  nation  during  his  minority.  The  Earl  of  Hertford,  being 
uncle  of  the  king,  was  unanimously  named  protector. 

The  first  thing  the  council  did  was  to  look  after  themselves, 
that  is,  to  give  themselves  titles  and  revenues.  Hertford  became 
Duke  of  Somerset ;  Essex,  Marquis  of  Northampton ;  Lisle,  Earl 
of  Warwick ;  the  Chancellor  Wnothesley,  Earl  of  Southampton. 
At  the  head  of  these  nobles  was  Somerset.  He  was  a  Protestant, 
and  therefore  prosecuted  those  reforms  which  Cranmer  had  before 
projected.  Cranmer,  as  member  of  the  council,  archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  and  friend  of  Somerset,  had  ample  scope  to  prose- 
cute his  measures. 

The  history  of  this  reign  is  not  important  in  a  political  point  of 
view,  and  relates  chiefly  to  the  completion  of  the  reformation,  and 
to  the  squabbles  and  jealousies  of  the  great  lords  who  formed  the 
council  of  regency. 

The  most  important  event,  of  a  political  character,  was  a  war 
with  Scotland,  growing  out  of  the  attempts  of  the  late  king  to 
unite  both  nations  under  one  government.  In  consequence,  Scot- 
land was  invaded  by  the  Duke  of  Somerset,  at  the  head  of  eighteen 
thousand  men.  A  great  battle  was  fought,  in  which  ten  thousand 
of  the  Scots  were  slain.  But  the  protector  was  compelled  to 
return  to  England,  without  following  up  the  fruits  of  victory,  in 
consequence  of  cabals  at  court.  His  brother.  Lord  Seymour,  a 
man  of  reckless  ambition,  had  married  the  queen  dowager,  and 
openly  aspired  to  the  government  of  the  kingdom.     He  endeav- 


CHAP,    v.]  REBELLIONS   AND   DISCONTENTS.  61 

ored  to  seduce  the  youthful  king,  and  he  had  provided  arms  for 
ten  thousand  men. 

The  protector  sought  to  win  his  brother  from  his  treasonable 
designs  by  kindness  and  favors;  but,  all  his  measures  proving 
ineffectual,  he  was  arrested,  tried,  and  executed,  for  high 
treason. 

But  Somerset  had  a  more  dangerous  enemy  than  his  brother ; 
and  this  was  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  who  obtained  great  popularity 
by  his  suppression  of  a  dangerous  insurrection,  the  greatest  the 
country  had  witnessed  since  Jack  Cade's  rebellion,  one  hundred 
years  before.  The  discontent  of  the  people  appears  to  have 
arisen  from  their  actual  suffering.  Coin  had  depreciated, 
without  a  corresponding  rise  of  wages,  and  labor  was  cheap, 
because  tillage  lands  were  converted  to  pasturage.  The  popular 
discontent  was  aggravated  by  the  changes  which  the  reformers 
introduced,  and  which  the  peasantry  were  the  last  to  appreciate. 
The  priests  and  ejected  monks  increased  the  discontent,  until  it 
broke  out  into  a  flame. 

The  protector  made  himself  unpopular  with  the  council  by  a 
law  which  he  caused  to  be  passed  against  enclosures ;  and,  as  he 
lost  influence,  his  great  rival,  Warwick,  gained  power.  Somerset, 
at  last,  was  obliged  to  resign  his  protectorship  ;  and  Warwick,  who 
had  suppressed  the  rebellion,  formed  the  chief  of  a  new  council 
of  regency.  He  was  a  man  of  greater  talents  than  Somerset,  and 
equal  ambition,  and  more  fitted  for  stormy  times. 

As  soon  as  his  power  was  established,  and  the  country  was  at 
peace,  and  he  had  gained  friends,  he  began  to  execute  those 
projects  of  ambition  which  he  had  long  formed.  The  earldom  of 
Northumberland  having  reverted  to  the  crown,  Warwick  aspired 
to  the  extinct  title  and  the  estates,  and  procured  for  himself  a 
grant  of  the  same,  with  the  title  of  duke.  But  there  still  remained 
a  bar  to  his  elevation ;  and  this  was  the  opposition  of  the  Duke  of 
Somerset,  who,  though  disgraced  and  unpopular,  was  still  power- 
ful. It  is  unfortunate  to  be  in  the  way  of  a  great  man's  career, 
and  Somerset  paid  the  penalty  of  his  opposition  —  the  common 
fate  of  unsuccessful  rivals  in  unsettled  times.  He  was  accused  of 
treason,  condemned,  and  executed,  (1552.) 

Northumberland,  as  the  new  dictator,  seemed  to  have  attained 
6 


62  BIVALRY   OF    THE   OREAT   KOSLES.  [cHAP.  V. 

the  highest  elevation  to  which  n  subject  could  aspire.  In  rank, 
power,  and  property,  he  was  second  only  to  the  royal  family  ; 
but  his  ambition  knew  no  bounds,  and  he  began  IjIk  intrigues  to 
induce  the  young  king,  whose  health  was  rapidly  failing,  and  who 
was  zealously  attached  to  Protestantism,  to  set  aside  the  succession 
of  his  sister  Mary  to  the  throne,  really  in  view  of  the  danger  to 
which  the  reformers  would  be  subjected,  but  under  pretence  of 
her  declared  illegitimacy,  which  would  also  set  aside  the  claims 
of  the  Princess  Elizabeth.  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  was  to  be  set 
aside  on  the  ground  of  the  will  of  the  late  king,  and  the  succession 
would  therefore  devolve  on  the  Lady  Jane  Grey,  granddaughter 
of  the  Duke  of  Suffolk  and  of  the  French  queen,  whom  he  hoped 
to  unite  in  marriage  with  his  son.  This  was  a  deeply-laid  scheme, 
and  came  near  being  successful,  since  Edward  hstened  to  it  with 
pleasure.  Northumberland  then  sought  to  gain  over  the  judges 
and  other  persons  of  distinction,  and  succeeded  by  bribery  and 
intimidation.  At  this  juncture,  the  young  king  died,  possessed  of 
all  the  accomplishments  which  could  grace  a  youth  of  sixteen, 
but  still  a  tool  in  the  hands  of  his  ministers. 

Such  were  the  political  movements  of  this  reign — memorable 
for  the  rivalries  of  the  great  nobles.  But  it  is  chiefly  distin- 
guished for  the  changes  which  were  made  in  the  church  estab- 
lishment, and  the  introduction  of  the  principles  of  the  continental 
reformers.  No  changes  of  importance  were  ever  made  beyond 
what  Cranmer  and  his  associates  effected.  Indeed,  all  that  an  abso- 
lute monarch  could  do,  was  done,  and  done  with  prudence,  sagacity, 
and  moderation.  The  people  quietly — except  in  some  rural  dis- 
tricts—  acquiesced  in  the  change.  Most  of  the  clergy  took  the 
new  oath  of  allegiance  to  Edward  VI.,  as  supreme  head  of  the 
church  ;  and  very  few  suffered  from  religious  persecution.  There 
is  no  period  in  English  history  when  such  important  changes  were 
made,  with  so  little  bloodshed.  Cranmer  always  watched  the  tem- 
per of  the  nation,  and  did  nothing  without  great  caution.  Still  a 
great  change  was  effected  —  no  less  than  a  complete  change  from 
Romanism  to  Protestantism.  But  it  was  not  so  radical  a  reform  as 
the  Puritans  subsequently  desired,  since  the  hierarchy  and  a 
liturgy,  and  clerical  badges  and  dresses,  were  reta'med.  It  was 
the  fortune  of  Cranmer,  during  the  six  years  of  Edward's  reigrt, 


\ 


CHAP,  v.]  RELIGIOUS    REFORMS,  63 

to  effect  the  two  great  objects  of  which  the  English  church  has  ever 
since  been  proud  —  the  removal  of  Roman  abuses,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  creed  of  Luther  and  Calvin ;  and  this  without 
sweeping  away  the  union  of  church  and  state,  which,  indeed,  was 
more  intimate  than  before  the  reformation.  The  papal  power  was 
completely  subverted.  Nothing  more  -remained  to  be  done  by 
Cranmer.  He  had  compiled  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  abol- 
ished the  old  Latin  service,  the  worship  of  images,  the  ceremony 
of  the  mass,  and  auricular  confessions.  He  turned  the  altars  into 
communion  tables,  set  up  the  singing  of  psalms  in  the  service, 
caused  the  communion  to  be  administered  in  both  kinds  to  the 
laity,  added  the  litany  to  the  ritual,  prepared  a  book  of  homilies 
for  the  clergy,  invited  learned  men  to  settle  in  England,  and 
magnificently  endowed  schools  and  universities. 

The  Reformation  is  divested  of  much  interest,  since  it  was  the 
work  of  authority^  rather  than  the  result  of  popular  convictions. 
But  Cranmer  won  immortal  honor  for  his  skilful  management,  and 
for  making  no  more  changes  than  he  could  sustain.  A  large  part 
of  the  English  nation  still  regard  his  works  as  perfect,  and  are 
sincerely  and  enthusiastically  attached  to  the  form  which  he  gave 
to  his  church. 

The  hopes  of  his  party  were  suddenly  dispelled  by  the  death 
of  the  amiable  prince  whom  he  controlled,  6th  of  July,  1553. 
The  succession  to  the  throne  fell  to  the  Princess  Mary,  or,  as 
princesses  were  then  called,  -the  Lady  Mary  ;  nor  could  all  the 
arts  of  Northumberland  exclude  her  from  the  enjoyment  of  her 
rights.  This  ambitious  nobleman  contrived  to  keep  the  death  of 
Edward  VI.  a  secret  two  days,  and  secure  from  the  Mayor  and 
Alderman  of  London  a  promise  to  respect  the  will  of  the  late 
king.  In  consequence,  the  Lady  Jane  Grey  was  proclaimed 
Queen  of  England.  "  So  far  was  she  from  any  desire  of  this 
advancement,  that  she  began  to  act  her  part  of  royalty  with 
many  tears,  thus  plainly  showing  to  those  who  had  access  to  her, 
that  she  was  forced  by  her  relations  and  friends  to  this  high,  but 
dangerous  post."  She  was  accomplished,  beautiful,  and  amiable, 
devoted  to  her  young  husband,  and  very  fond  of  Plato,  whom  sho 
read  in  the  original. 

But  Mary's   friends  exerted  themselves,  and  her  cause  —  the 


G4  EXECUTION  OF  NORTHUMBERLAND.      [cHAP.  V. 

cause  of  legitimacy,  rather  than  that  of  Catholicism  —  gained 
ground.  Northumberland  was  unequal  to  this  crisis,  and  he  was 
very  feebly  sustained.  His  forces  were  suppressed,  his  schemes 
failed,  and  his  hopes  fled.  From  rebellion,  to  the  scaffold,  there  is 
but  a  step ;  and  this  great  nobleman  sulfercd  the  fate  of  Somerset, 
his  former  rival.  His  execution  confirms  one  of  the  most  striking 
facts  in  the  history  of  absolute  monarchies,  when  the  idea  of 
legitimacy  is  firmly  impressed  on  the  national  mind  ;  and  that  is, 
that  no  subject,  or  confederacy  of  subjects,  however  powerful, 
stand  much  chance  in  resisting  the  claims  or  the  will  of  a  legiti- 
mate prince.  A  nod  or  a  word,  from  such  a  king,  can  consign 
the  greatest  noble  to  hopeless  impotence.  And  he  can  do  this 
from  the  mighty  and  mysterious  force  of  ideas  alone.  Neither 
king  nor  parliament  can  ever  resist  the  omnipotence  of  popular 
ideas.  When  ideas  establish  despots  on  their  thrcmes,  they  are 
safe.  When  ideas  demand  their  dethronement,  no  forces  can 
long  sustain  them.  The  age  of  Queen  Mary  was  the  period  of 
the  most  unchecked  absolutism  in  England.  Mary  was  appa- 
rently a  powerless  woman  when  Lady  Jane  Grey  was  pro- 
claimed queen  by  the  party  of  Northumberland,  and  still  she  had 
but  to  signify  her  intentions  to  claim  her  rights,  and  the  nation 
was  prostrate  at  her  feet.  The  Protestant  party  dreaded  her 
accession  ;  but  loyalty  was  a  stronger  principle  than  even  Protes- 
tantism, and  she  was  soon  firmly  established  in  the  absolute  throne 
of  Henry  VIII. 

Then  almost  immediately  followed  a  total  change  in  the  admin- 
istration, which  affected  both  the  political  and  religious  state  of 
the  country.  Those  who  had  languished  in  confinement,  on 
account  of  their  religion,  obtained  their  liberty,  and  were  elevated 
to  power.  Gardiner,  Bonner,  and  other  Catholic  bishops,  were 
restored  to  their  sees,  while  Cranmer,  Ridley,  Latimer,  Hooper, 
Coverdale,  and  other  eminent  Protestants,  were  imprisoned.  All 
the  statutes  of  Edward  VI.  pertaining  to  religion  were  repealed, 
and  the  queen  sent  assurances  to  the  pope  of  her  allegiance  to  his 
see.  Cardinal  Pole,  descended  from  the  royal  family  of  Eng- 
land, and  a  man  of  great  probity,  moderation,  and  worth,  was 
sent  as  legate  of  the  pope.  Gardiner,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  was 
made  lord  chancellor,  and  became  the  prime  minister.     He  and 


CHAP,  v.]  MARRIAGE  OF  THE  QUEEN.  65 

his  associates  recommended  violent  councils ;  and  a  reign,  unpar- 
alleled in  England  for  religious  persecution,  commenced. 

Soon  after  the  queen's  accession,  she  married  PhiUp,  son  of 
the  Emperor  Charles,  and  heir  of  the  Spanish  monarchy.  This 
marriage,  brought  about  by  the  intrigues  of  the  emperor,  and 
favored  by  the  Catholic  party,  was  qyite  acceptable  to  Mary, 
whose  issue  would  inherit  the  thrones  of  Spain  and  England. 
But  ambitious  matches  are  seldom  happy,  especially  when  the 
wife  is  much  older  than  the  husband,  as  was  the  fact  in  this 
instance.  Mary,  however,  was  attached  to  Philip,  although  he 
treated  her  with  great  indifference. 

This  Spanish  match,  the  most  brilliant  of  that  age,  failed,  how- 
ever, to  satisfy  the  English,  who  had  no  notion  of  becoming  the 
subjects  of  the  King  of  Spain.  In  consequence  of  this  disaffec- 
tion, a  rebellion  broke  out,  in  which  Sir  Thomas  Wyatt  was  the 
most  conspicuous,  and  in  which  the  Duke  of  Suffolk,  and  even  the 
Lady  Jane  and  her  husband,  were  implicated,  though  unjustly. 
The  rebellion  was  easily  suppressed,  and  the  leaders  sent  to  the 
Tower.  Then  followed  one  of  the  most  melancholy  executions  of 
this  reign  —  that  of  the  Lady  Jane  Grey,  who  had  been  reprieved 
three  months  before.  The  queen  urged  the  plea  of  self-defence, 
and  the  safety  of  the  realm  —  the  same  that  Queen  Elizabeth,  in 
after  times,  made  in  reference  to  the  Queen  of  the  Scots.  Her 
unfortunate  fate  excited  great  popular  compassion,  and  she  suf- 
fered with  a  martyr's  constancy,  and  also  her  husband  —  two 
illustrious  victims,  sacrificed  in  consequence  of  the  ambition  of 
their  relatives,  and  the  jealousy  of  the  queen.  The  Duke  of 
Suffolk,  the  father  of  Lady  Jane,  was  also  executed,  and  deserved 
his  fate,  according  to  the  ideas  of  his  age.  The  Princess  Eliz- 
abeth expected  also  to  be  sacrificed,  both  because  she  was  a 
Protestant  and  the  next  heiress  to  the  throne.  But  she  carefully 
avoided  giving  any  offence,  and  managed  with  such  consummate 
prudence,  that  she  was  preserved  for  the  future  glory  and  welfare 
of  the  realm. 

The  year  1555  opened  gloomily  for  the  Protestants.  The 
prisons  were  all  crowded  with  the  victims  of  religious  persecu- 
tion, and  bigoted  inquisitors  had  only  to  prepare  their  fagots 
and  stakes.     Over  a  thousand  ministers   were  ejected  from  their 


66  EELIGIOUS   PERSECUTION.  [OHAP.  V. 

livings,  and  such  as  escaped  further  persecution  fled  to  the  con 
tinent.  No  fewer  than  two  hundred  and  eighty-eight  persons,  among 
whom  were  five  bishops,  twenty-one  clergymen,  fifty-five  women, 
and  four  children,  were  burned  for  religious  opinions,  besides  many 
thousands  who  suffered  various  other  forms  of  persecution.  The 
constancy  of  Ridley,  Latimer,  and  Hooper  has  immortalized  their 
names  on  the  list  of  illustrious  martyrs  ;  but  the  greatest  of  all 
the  victims  was  Cranmer,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  The  most 
artful  and  insinuating  promises  were  held  out  to  him,  to  induce 
him  to  retract.  Life  and  dignities  were  promised  him,  if  he 
would  consent  to  betray  his  cause.  In  an  evil  hour,  he  yielded  to 
the  temptation,  and  consented  to  sell  his  soul.  Timid,  heart- 
broken, and  old,  the  love  of  life  and  the  fear  of  death  were 
stronger  than  the  voice  of  conscience  and  his  duty  to  his  God. 
But,  when  he  found  he  was  mocked,  he  came  to  himself,  and  suf- 
fered patiently  and  heroically.  His  death  was  glorious,  as  his  Ufc 
was  useful ;  and  the  sincerity  of  his  repentance  redeemed  his 
memory  from  shame.  Cranmer  may  be  considered  as  the  great 
author  of  the  English  Reformation,  and  one  of  the  most  worthy 
and  enlightened  men  of  his  age ;  but  he  was  timid,  politic,  and 
time-serving.  The  Reformation  produced  no  perfect  characters 
in  any  country.  Some  great  defect  blemished  the  lives  of  all  the 
illustrious  men  who  have  justly  earned  imperishable  glory.  But 
the  character  of  such  men  as  Cranmer,  and  Ridley,  and  Latimer, 
present  an  interesting  contrast  to  those  of  Gardiner  and  Bonner. 
The  former  did  show,  however,  some  lenity  in  the  latter  years  of 
this  reign  of  Mary ;  but  the  latter,  the  Bishop  of  London,  gloated 
to  the  last  in  the  blood  which  he  caused  to  be  shed.  He  even 
whipped  the  Protestant  prisoners  with  his  own  hands,  and  once 
pulled  out  the  beard  of  an  heretical  weaver,  and  held  his  finger  in 
the  flame  of  a  candle,  till  the  veins  shrunk  and  burnt,  that  he 
might  realize  what  the  pain  of  burning  was.  So  blind  and  cruel 
is  religious  intolerance. 

But  Providence  ordered  that  the  religious  persecution,  which  is 
attributed  to  Mary,  but  which,  in  strict  justice,  should  be  ascribed 
to  her  counsellors  and  ministers,  should  prepare  the  way  for  a 
popular  and  a  spiritual  movement  in  the  subsequent  reign.  The 
fires  of  Smithfield,  and  the  cruelties  of  the  pillory  and  the  prison. 


CHAP,  v.]  CHARACTER  OF  MARY.  67 

opened  the  eyes  of  the  nation  to  the  spirit  of  the  old  religion,  and 
also  caused  the  flight  of  many  distinguished  men  to  Frankfort  and 
Geneva,  where  they  learned  the  principles  of  both  religious  and 
civil  liberty.  "  The  blood  of  martyrs  proved  the  seed  of  the 
church  "  —  a  sublime  truth,  revealed  to  Cranmer  and  Ridley  amid 
the  fires  which  consumed  their  venerable  bodies ;  and  not  to  them 
merely,  but  to  all  who  witnessed  their  serenity,  and  heard  their 
shouts  of  triumph  when  this  mortal  passed  to  immortality.  Her- 
etics increased  with  the  progress  of  persecution,  and  firm  conviction 
took  the  place  of  a  blind  confession  of  dogmas.  "  It  was  not," 
says  Milman, "  until  Christ  was  lain  in  his  rock-hewn  sepulchre,  that 
the  history  of  Christianity  commenced."  We  might  add,  it  was 
not  until  the  fires  of  Smithfield  were  lighted,  that  great  spiritual 
ideas  took  hold  of  the  popular  mind,  and  the  intense  religious 
earnestness  appeared  which  has  so  often  characterized  the  English 
nation.  The  progress  which  man  makes  is  generally  seen  through 
disaster,  suffering,  and  sorrow.  This  is  one  of  the  fundamental 
truths  which  history  teaches. 

The  last  years  of  the  reign  of  Mary  were  miserable  to  herself, 
and  disastrous  to  the  nation.  Her  royal  husband  did  not  return 
her  warm  affections,  and  left  England  forever.  She  embarked 
in  a  ruinous  war  with  France,  and  gained  nothing  but  disgrace. 
Her  health  failed,  and  her  disposition  became  gloomy.  She  con- 
tinued, to  the  last,  most  intolerant  in  her  religious  opinions,  and 
thought  more  of  restoring  Romanism,  than  of  promoting  the  inter- 
ests of  her  kingdom.  Her  heart  was  bruised  and  broken,  and  her 
life  was  a  succession  of  sorrows.  It  is  fashionable  to  call  this 
anfortunate  queen  the  "  bloody  Mary,"  and  not  allow  her  a  single 
virtue  ;  but  she  was  affectionate,  sincere,  high-minded,  and  shrunk 
from  the  dissimulation  and  intrigue  which  characterized  "  the  virgin 
queen  "  —  the  name  given  to  her  masculine  but  energetic  suc- 
cessor. Mary  was  capable  of  the  warmest  friendship ;  was  atten- 
tive and  considerate  to  her  servants,  charitable  to  the  poor,  and 
sympathetic  with  the  unfortunate,  when  not  blinded  by  her  religious 
prejudices.  She  had  many  accomplishments,  and  a  very  severe 
taste,  and  was  not  addicted  to  oaths,  as  was  Queen  Elizabeth  and 
her  royal  father.  She  was,  however,  a  bigoted  Catholic  ;  and  how 
could  partisan  historians  see  or  acknowledge  her  merits  ? 


68  ACCESSION   OF   ELIZABETH.  [CHAP.  V. 

But  her  reign  was  disastrous,  and  the  nation  hailed  with  enthu- 
siasm the  accession  of  Elizabeth,  on  the  17th  of  November,  1558. 
With  her  reign  commences  a  new  epoch,  even  in  the  history  of 
Europe.  Who  does  not  talk  of  the  Elizabethan  era,  when  Protes- 
tantism was  established  in  England,  when  illustrious  poets  and  phi- 
losophers adorned  the  literature  of  the  country,  when  commerce 
euid  arts  received  a  great  impulse,  when  the  colonies  in  North 
America  were  settled,  and  when  a  constellation  of  great  statesmen 
raised  England  to  a  pitch  of  glory  not  before  attamed  ? 


Rbpbkences.  —  See  Hume's,  and  Lingard's,  and  other  standard  Histo- 
ries of  England;  Miss  Strickland's  Lives  of  the  Queens  of  England; 
Burnet's  History  of  the  Reformation ;  Life  of  Cramner ;  Fox's  Book  of 
Martyrs.  These  works  contain  all  the  easily- accessible  information  re- 
specting the  reigns  of  Edward  and  Mary,  which  is  important. 


CHAP.  VI.]  MARY,   QUEEN    OF    SCOTS.  69 

CHAPTER    VI. 

ELIZABETH 

Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Henry  VIII.,  by  Anne  Boleyn,  was  m 
her  twenty-sixth  year  when  she  ascended  the  throne.  She  was 
crowned  the  15th  of  June,  1559,  and  soon  assembled  her  parUa- 
ment  and  selected  her  ministers.  After  establishing  her  own 
legitimacy,  she  set  about  settling  the  affairs  of  the  church,  but 
only  restored  the  Protestant  religion  as  Cranmer  had  left  it.  In- 
deed, she  ever  retained  a  fondness  for  ceremonial,  and  abhorred  a 
reform  spirit  among  the  people.  She  insisted  on  her  supremacy, 
as  head  of  the  church,  and  on  conformity  with  her  royal  conscience. 
But  she  was  not  severe  on  the  Catholics,  and  even  the  gluttonous 
and  vindictive  Bonner  was  permitted  to  end  his  days  in  peace. 

As  soon  as  the  Protestant  religion  was  established,  the  queen 
turned  her  attention  towards  Scotland,  from  which  much  trouble 
was  expected. 

Scotland  was  then  governed  by  Mary,  daughter  of  James  V., 
and  had  succeeded  her  father  while  a  mere  infant,  eight  days  after 
her  birth,  (1542.)  In  1558,  she  married  the  dauphin,  afterwards 
King  of  France,  by  which  marriage  she  was  Queen  of  France  as 
well  as  of  Scotland. 

According  to  every  canonical  law  of  the  Roman  church,  the 
claim  of  Mary  Stuart  to  the  English  throne  was  preferable  to  that 
of  her  cousin  Elizabeth.  Her  uncles,  the  Guises,  represented 
that  Anne  Boleyn's  marriage  had  never  been  lawful,  and  that  Eliza- 
beth was  therefore  illegitimate.  In  an  evil  hour,  she  and  her  hus- 
band quartered  the  arms  of  England  with  their  own,  and  assumed 
the  titles  of  King  and  Queen  of  Scotland  and  England.  And 
Elizabeth's  indignation  was  further  excited  by  the  insult  which  the 
pope  had  inflicted,  in  declaring  her  birth  illegitimate.  She,  there- 
fore, resolved  to  gratify,  at  once,  both  her  ambition  and  her  ven- 
geance, encouraged  by  her  ministers,  who  wished  to  advance  the 
Protestant  interest  in  the  kingdom.     Accordingly,  Elizabeth,  with 


70  JOHN   KNOX.  [chap.    VI. 

consummate  art,  undermined  the  authority  of  Mary  in  Scotland, 
now  distracted  by  religious  as  well  as  civil  commotions.  Mary 
was  a  Catholic,  and  had  a  peffect  abhorrence  and  disgust  of  the 
opinions  and  customs  of  the  reformers,  especially  of  John  Knox, 
whose  influence  in  Scotland  was  almost  druidical.  The  Catholics 
resolved  to  punish  with  fire  and  sword,  while  the  Protestants  were 
equally  intent  on  defending  themselves  with  the  sword.  And  it  so 
happened  that  some  of  tlie  most  powerful  of  the  nobility  were 
arrayed  on  the  side  of  Protestantism.  But  the  Scotch  reformers 
were  animated  with  a  zeal  unknown  to  Cranmer  and  his  associates. 
The  leaders  had  been  trained  at  Geneva,  under  the  guidance  of 
Calvin,  and  had  imbibed  his  opinions,  and  were,  therefore,  resolved 
to  carry  the  work  of  reform  after  the  model  of  the  Genevan 
church.  Accordingly,  those  pictures,  and  statues,  and  ornaments, 
and  painted  glass,  and  cathedrals,  which  Cranmer  spared,  were 
furiously  destroyed  by  the  Scotch  reformers,  who  considered  them 
as  parts  of  an  idolatrous  worship.  The  antipathy  to  bishops  and 
clerical  vestments  was  equally  strong,  and  a  sweeping  reform  was 
carried  on  under  the  dictatorship  of  Knox.  Elizabeth  had  no  more 
sympathy  with  this  bold,  but  uncouth,  reformer  and  his  movements, 
than  had  Mary  herself,  and  never  could  forgive  him  for  his  book, 
written  at  Geneva,  aimed  against  female  government,  called  the 
"  First  Blast  of  a  Trumpet  against  the  monstrous  Regiment  of 
Women."  But  Knox  cared  not  for  either  the  English  or  the  Scot- 
tish queens,  and  zealously  and  fearlessly  prosecuted  his  work,  and 
gained  over  to  his  side  the  moral  strength  of  the  kingdom.  Of 
course,  a  Catholic  queen  resolved  to  suppress  his  doctrines ;  but 
nearly  the  whole  Scottish  nobility  rallied  around  his  standard, 
marching  with  the  Bible  in  one  hand,  and  the  sword  in  the  other. 
The  queen  brought  in  troops  from  France  to  support  her  insulted 
and  tottering  government,  which  only  increased  the  zeal  of  the 
Protestant  party,  headed  by  the  Earls  of  Argyle,  Arran,  Morton, 
and  Glencaim,  and  James  Stuart,  Prior  of  St.  Andrews,  who  styled 
themselves  "  Lords  of  the  Congregation."  A  civil  war  now  raged 
in  Scotland,  between  the  queen  regent,  who  wished  to  suppress  the 
national  independence,  and  extinguish  the  Protestant  religion,  and 
the  Protestants,  who  comprised  a  great  part  of  the  nation,  and  who 
were  resolved  on  the  utter  extirpation  of  Romanism  and  the  limi- 


CHAP.  VI.]  MARRIAGE    OF    MARY DARNLEY.  71 

tation  of  the  regal  power.  The  Lords  of  the  Congregation  implored 
the  aid  of  England,  which  Elizabeth  was  ready  to  grant,  both 
from  political  and  religious  motives.  The  Protestant  cause  was  in 
the  ascendant,  when  the  queen  regent  died,  in  1560.  The  same 
year  died  Francis  II.  of  France ;  and  Mary,  now  a  widow,  resolved 
to  return  to  her  own  kingdom.  She  landed  at  Leith,  August,  1561, 
and  was  received  with  the  grandest  demonstration  of  joy.  For  a 
time,  affairs  were  tolerably  tranquil,  Mary  having  intrusted  the 
great  Protestant  nobles  with  power.  She  was  greatly  annoyed, 
however,  by  Knox,  who  did  not  treat  her  with  the  respect  due  to 
a  queen,  and  who  called  her  Jezebel ;  but  the  reformer  escaped 
punishment  on  account  of  his  great  power. 

In  1565,  Mary  married  her  cousin.  Lord  Darnley,sonof  theEarl 
of  Lennox, — a  match  exceedingly  distasteful  to  Elizabeth,  who  was 
ever  jealous  of  Mary,  especially  in  matrimonial  matters,  since 
the  Scottish  queen  had  not  renounced  her  pretensions  to  the  throne 
of  her  grandfather,  Henry  VII.  The  character  of  Elizabeth  now 
appears  in  its  worst  light ;  and  meanness  and  jealousy  took  the 
place  of  that  magnanimity  which  her  admirers  have  ascribed  to 
her.  She  fomented  disturbances  in  Scotland,  and  incited  the 
queen's  natural  brother,  the  Prior  of  St.  Andrews,  now  Earl  of 
Murray,  to  rebeUion,  with  the  expectation  of  obtaining  the  govern- 
ment of  the  country.  He  formed  a  conspiracy  to  seize  the  per- 
sons of  Mary  and  her  husband.  The  plot  was  discovered,  and 
Murray  fled  to  England  ;  but  it  was  still  unremittingly  pursued,  till 
at  length  it  was  accomplished. 

Darnley,  the  consort  of  Mary,  was  a  man  of  low  tastes,  profli- 
gate habits,  and  shallow  •  understanding.  Such  a  man  could  not 
long  retain  the  affections  of  the  most  accomplished  woman  of  her 
age,  accustomed  to  flattery,  and  bent  on  pursuing  her  own  pleasure, 
at  any  cost.  Disgust  and  coldness  therefore  took  place.  Darnley, 
enraged  at  this  increasing  coldness,  was  taught  to  believe  that  he 
was  supplanted  in  the  queen's  affections  by  an  Italian  favorite,  the 
musician  Rizzio,  whom  Mary  had  made  her  secretary.  He  there- 
fore signed  a  bond,  with  certain  lords,  for  the  murder  of  the  Italian, 
who  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  no  character.  One  evening,  as 
the  queen  was  at  supper,  in  her  private  apartment,  with  the  countess 
of  Argyle  and  Rizzio,  the  Earl  of  Morton,  with  one  hundred  and 


72  BOTHWELL  —  CIVIL   WAR   IN    SCOTLAND.  [cHAP.  VI. 

sixty  men,  took  possession  of  the  palace  of  Holyrood,  while  Darn- 
ley  himself  showed  the  way  to  a  band  of  ruffians  to  the  royal 
presence.  Kizzio  was  barbarously  murdered  in  the  presence  of 
the  queen,  who  endeavored  to  protect  him. 

Daniley,  in  thus  perpetrating  this  shocking  murder,  was  but  the 
tool  of  some  of  the  great  lords,  who  wished  to  make  him  hateful 
to  the  queen,  and  to  the  nation,  and  thus  prepare  the  way  for  his 
own  execution.  And  they  succeeded.  A  plot  was  contrived  for 
the  murder  of  Damley,  of  which  Murray  was  probably  the  author. 
Shortly  after,  the  house,  in  which  he  slept,  was  blown  up  by 
gunpowder,  in  the  middle  of  the  night. 

The  public  voice  imputed  to  the  Earl  of  Bothweil,  a  great  favor- 
ite of  the  queen,  the  murder  of  Darnley.  Nor  did  the  queen  herself 
escape  suspicion.  "  But  no  inquiry  or  research,"  says  Scott,  "  has 
ever  been  able  to  bring  us  either  to  that  clear  opinion  upon  the 
guilt  of  Mary  which  is  expressed  by  many  authors,  or  guide  us  to 
that  triumphant  conclusion  in  favor  of  her  innocence  of  all  acces- 
sion, direct  or  tacit,  to  the  death  of  her  husband,  which  others 
have  maintained  with  the  same  obstinacy."  But  whatever  doubt 
exists  as  to  the  queen's  guilt,  there  is  none  respecting  her  minis- 
ters —  Maitland,  Huntley,  Morton,  and  Argyle.  Still  they  offered  a 
reward  of  two  thousand  pounds  for  the  discovery  of  the  murderers. 
The  public  voice  accused  Bothweil  as  the  principal :  and  yet  the 
ministers  associated  with  him,  and  the  queen,  entirely  exculpated 
him.  He  was  brought  to  a  trial,  on  the  formal  accusation  of  the 
Earl  of  Lennox,  in  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  which  he  was  permitted 
to  obtain  possession  of.  In  a  place  guarded  by  his  own  followers, 
it  was  not  safe  for  any  witnesses  to  appear  against  him,  and  ho 
was  therefore  acquitted,  though  the  whole  nation  believed  him 
guilty. 

Mary  was  rash  enough  to  marry,  shortly  after,  the  man  whom 
public  opmion  pronounced  to  be  the  murderer  of  her  husband  ;  and 
Murray,  her  brother,  was  so  ambitious  and  treacherous,  as  to  favor 
the  marriage,  with  the  hope  that  the  unpopularity  of  the  act  would 
lead  to  the  destruction  of  the  queen,  and  place  him  at  the  helm  of 
state.  No  sooner  was  Mary  married  to  Bothweil,  than  Murray  and 
other  lords  threw  off  the  mask,  pretended  to  be  terribly  indignant, 
took  up  arms  against  the  queen,  with  the  view  of  making  her 


CHAP.  VI.]  CAPTIVITY    OF    QUEEN    MARY.  73 

prisoner,  and  with  the  pretence  of  deHvering  her  from  her  husband. 
Bothwell  escaped  to  Norway,  and  the  queen  surrendered  herself, 
at  Carberry  Hill,  to  the  insurgent  army,  the  chiefs  of  which  in- 
stantly assumed  the  reins  of  government,  and  confined  the  queen 
in  the  castle  of  Lochleven,  and  treated  her  with  excessive  harsh- 
ness. Shortly  after,  (1567,)  she  resigned  her  crown  to  her  infant 
son,  and  Murray,  the  prime  mover  of  so  many  disturbances,  be- 
came regent  of  the  kingdom.  Murray  was  a  zealous  Protestant, 
and  had  the  support  of  Knox  in  all  his  measures,  and  the  counte- 
nance of  the  English  ministry.  Abating  his  intrigue  and  ambition, 
he  was  a  most  estimable  man,  and  deserved  the  affections  of  the 
nation,  which  he  retained  until  his  death.  M'Crie,  in  his  Life  of 
Knox,  represents  him  as  a  model  of  Christian  virtue  and  integrity, 
and  every  way  worthy  of  the  place  he  held  in  the  affections  of  his 
party. 

The  unfortunate  queen  suffered  great  unkindness  in  her  lonely 
confinement,  and  Knox,  with  the  more  zealous  of  his  party, 
clamored  for  her  death,  as  an  adulteress  and  a  murderer.  She 
succeeded  in  escaping  from  her  prison,  raised  an  army,  marched 
against  the  regent,  was  defeated  at  the  battle  of  Langside,  fled  to 
England,  and  became.  May,  1568,  the  prisoner-guest  of  her 
envious  rival.  Elizabeth  obtained  the  object  of  her  desires.  But 
the  captivity  of  Mary,  confined  in  Tutbury  Castle,  against  all  the 
laws  of  hospitality  and  justice,  gave  rise  to  incessant  disturbances, 
both  in  England  and  Scotland,  until  her  execution,  in  1587.  And 
these  form  no  inconsiderable  part  of  the  history  of  England  for 
seventeen  years.  Scotland  was  the  scene  of  anarchy,  growing 
out  of  the  contentions  and  jealousies  of  rival  chieftains,  who 
stooped  to  every  crime  that  appeared  to  facilitate  their  objects. 
In  1570,  the  regent  Murray  was  assassinated.  He  was  succeeded 
by  his  enemy,  the  Earl  of  Lennox,  who,  in  his  turn,  was  shot  by 
an  assassin.  The  Earl  of  Mar  succeeded  him,  but  lived  only  a 
year.  Morton  became  regent,  the  reward  of  his  many  crimes  ; 
but  retribution  at  last  overtook  him,  being  executed  when  James 
assumed  the  sovereignty. 

Meanwhile,  the  unfortunate  Mary  pined  in  hopeless  captivity. 
It  was  natural  for  her  to  seek  release,  and  also  for  her  friends  to 
help  her.     Among  her  friends  was  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  the  first 
7 


74  EXECUTION    OF   MARY.  [cHAP.   VI. 

nobleman  in  England,  and  a  zealous  Catholic.  He  aspired  to 
her  hand ;  but  Elizabeth  chose  to  consider  his  courtship  as  a  trea- 
sonable act,  and  Norfolk  was  arrested.  On  being  afterwards 
released,  he  plotted  for  the  liberation  of  Mary,  and  his  intrigues 
brought  him  to  the  block.  The  unfortunate  captive,  wearied  and 
impatient,  naturally  sought  the  assistance  of  foreign  powers.  She 
had  her  agents  in  Rome,  France,  Spain,  and  the  Low  Countries. 
The  Catholics  in  England  espoused  her  cause,  and  a  conspiracy 
was  formed  to  deliver  her,  assassinate  Elizabeth,  and  restore  the 
Catholic  religion.  From  the  fact  that  Mary  was  privy  to  that  part 
of  it  which  concerned  her  own  deliverance,  she  was  brought  to 
trial  as  a  criminal,  found  guilty  by  a  court  incompetent  to  sit  on 
her  case,  and  executed  witliout  remorse,  8th  February,  1587. 

Few  persons  have  excited  more  commiseration  than  this  unfor- 
tunate queen,  both  on  account  of  her  exalted  rank,  and  her 
splendid  intellectual  accomplishments.  Whatever  obloquy  she 
merited  for  her  acts  as  queen  of  Scotland,  no  one  can  blame  her 
for  meditating  escape  from  the  power  of  her  zealous  but  more 
fortunate  rival ;  and  her  execution  is  the  greatest  blot  in  the  charac- 
ter of  the  queen  of  England,  at  this  time  in  the  zenith  of  her  glory. 

Next  to  the  troubles  with  Scotland  growing  out  of  the  inter- 
ference of  Elizabeth,  the  great  political  events  of  the  reign  were 
the  long  and  protracted  war  with  Spain,  and  the  Irish  rebellion. 
Both  of  these  events  were  important. 

Spain  was  at  this  time  governed  by  PhiHp  II.,  son  of  the  em- 
peror Charles,  one  of  the  most  bigoted  Catholics  of  the  age,  and 
allied  with  Catharine  de  Medicis  of  France  for  the  entire  sup- 
pression of  Protestantism.  She  incited  her  son  Charles  IX.  to 
the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  and  Philip  established  the 
inquisition  in  Flanders.  This  measure  provoked  an  insurrection, 
to  suppress  which  the  Duke  of  Alva,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  of 
the  generals  of  Charles  V.,  was  sent  into  the  Netherlands  with  a 
large  army,  and  almost  unlimited  powers.  The  cruelties  of  Alva 
were  unparalleled.  In  six  years,  eighteen  thousand  persons  perished 
by  the  hands  of  the  executioner,  and  Alva  counted  on  the  entire 
suppression  of  Protestantism  by  the  mere  force  of  armies.  He 
could  count  the  physical  resources  of  the  people,  but  he  could  not 
estimate  the  degree  of  their  resistance  when  animated  by  the 


CHAP.  VI.J  MILITARY    PREPARATIONS    OF    PHILIP    II.  75 

spiiit  of  liberty  or  religion.  Providence,  too,  takes  care  of  those 
who  strive  to  take  care  of  themselves.  A  great  leader  appeared 
among  the  suffering  Hollanders,  almost  driven  to  despair — the 
celebrated  William  of  Nassau,  Prince  of  Orange.  He  appeared 
as  the  champion  of  the  oppressed  and  insulted  people  ;  they  rallied 
around  his  standard,  fought  with  desperate  bravery,  opened  the 
dikes  upon  their  cultivated  fields,  expelled  their  invaders,  and  laid 
the  foundation  of  their  liberties.  But  they  could  not  have  with- 
stood the  gigantic  power  of  the  Spanish  monarchy,  then  in  the 
fulness  of  its  strength,  and  the  most  powerful  in  Europe,  had  it  not 
been  for  aid  rendered  by  Elizabeth.  She  compassionated  their 
sufferings,  and  had  respect  for  their  cause.  She  entered  into  an 
alliance,  defensive  and  offensive,  and  the  Netherlands  became  the 
great  theatre  of  war,  even  after  they  had  thrown  off  the  Spanish 
yoke.  Although  the  United  Provinces  in  the  end  obtained  their 
liberty,  they  suffered  incredible  hardships,  and  lost  some  of  the 
finest  of  their  cities,  Antwerp  among  the  rest,  long  the  rival  of 
Amsterdam,  and  the  scene  of  Rubens's  labors. 

The  assistance  which  Elizabeth  rendered  to  the  Hollanders,  of 
course,  provoked  the  resentment  of  Philip  II. ;  and  this  was  in- 
creased by  the  legalized  piracies  of  Sir  Francis  Drake,  in  the 
West  Indies,  and  on  the  coasts  of  South  America.  This  com- 
mander, in  time  of  peace,  insisted  on  a  right  to  visit  those  ports 
which  the  Spaniards  had  closed,  which,  by  the  law  of  nations,  is 
piracy.  Philip,  according  to  all  political  maxims,  was  forced  to 
declare  war  with  England,  and  he  made  immense  preparations  to 
subdue  it.  But  the  preparations  of  Elizabeth  to  resist  the  power- 
ful monarch  were  also  great,  and  Drake  performed  brilliant  ex- 
ploits on  the  sea,  among  other  things,  destroying  one  hundred 
ships  in  the  Bay  of  Cadiz,  and  taking  immense  spoil.  The  prep- 
arations of  the  Spanish  monarch  were  made  on  such  a  gigantic 
scale,  that  Elizabeth  summoned  a  great  council  of  war  to  meet  the 
emergency,  at  which  the  all-accomplished  Sir  Walter  Raleigh 
took  a  leading  part.  His  advice  was  to  meet  the  Spaniards  on 
the  sea.  Although  the  royal  navy  consisted,  at  this  time,  of  only 
thirty-six  sail,  such  vigorous  measures  were  prosecuted,  that  one 
hundred  and  ninety-one  ships  were  collected,  manned  by  seven- 
teen thousand  four  hundred  seamen.     The  merchants  of  London 


76  SPANISH   ARMADA.  [cHAP.  VI. 

granted  thirty  ships  and  ten  thousand  men,  and  all  England  was 
aroused  to  meet  the  expected  danger.  Never  was  patriotism  more 
signally  evinced,  never  were  more  decisive  proofs  given  of  the 
popularity  of  a  sovereign.  Indeed,  Elizabeth  was  always  popular 
with  the  nation ;  and  with  all  her  ceremony,  and  state,  and  rude- 
ness to  tlie  commons,  and  with  all  their  apparent  servility,  she 
never  violated  the  laws,  or  irritated  the  people  by  oppressive 
exactions.  Many  acts  of  the  Tudor  princes  seem  to  indicate  the 
reign  of  despotism  in  England,  but  this  despotism  was  never 
grievous,  and  had  all  the  benignity  of  a  paternal  government. 
Capricious  and  arbitrary  as  Elizabeth  was,  in  regard  to  some  un- 
fortunate individuals  who  provoked  her  hatred  or  her  jealousy, 
still  she  ever  sedulously  guarded  the  interests  of  the  nation,  and 
listened  to  the  counsel  of  patriotic  and  able  ministers.  When 
England  was  threatened  with  a  Spanish  invasion,  there  was  not  a 
comer  of  the  land  which  did  not  rise  to  protect  a  beloved  sov- 
ereign ;  nor  was  there  a  single  spot,  where  a  landing  might  be 
effected,  around  which  an  army  of  twenty  thousand  could  not 
be  i-allied  in  forty-eight  hours. 

But  Philip,  nevertheless,  expected  the  complete  conquest  of 
England  ;  and,  as  his  "  Invincible  Armada  "  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty  ships,  left  the  mouth  of  the  Tagus,  commanded  by  Medina 
Sidonia,  and  manned  by  the  noblest  troops  of  Spain,  he  fancied 
his  hour  of  triumph  was  at  hand.  But  his  hopes  proved  dreams, 
like  most  of  the  ambitious  designs  of  men.  The  armada  met  with 
nothing  but  misfortunes,  both  from  battle  and  from  storms.  Only 
fifty  ships  returned  to  Spain.  An  immense  booty  was  divided 
among  the  English  sailors,  and  Elizabeth  sent,  in  her  turn,  a  large 
fleet  to  Spain,  the  following  year,  (1589,)  under  the  command  of 
Drake,  which,  after  burning  a  few  towns,  returned  ingloriously  to 
England,  with  a  loss  of  ten  thousand  men.  The  war  was  con- 
tinued with  various  success  till  1598,  when  a  peace  was  negotiated. 
The  same  year,  died  Philip  II.,  and  Lord  Burleigh,  who,  for  forty 
years,  directed  the  councils  of  Elizabeth,  and  to  whose  voice  she 
ever  listened,  even  when  opposed  by  such  favorites  as  Leicester 
and  Essex.  Burleigh  was  not  a  great  genius,  but  was  a  man 
admirably  adapted  to  his  station  and  his  times,  —  was  cool, 
sagacious,  politic,  and  pacific,  skilful  in  the  details  of  business, 


CHAP.  VI.]  IRISH   REBELLION.  77 

competent  to  advise,  but  not  aspiring  to  command.  He  was 
splendidly  rewarded  for  his  services,  and  left  behind  him  three 
hundred  distinct  landed  estates. 

Meanwhile  the  attention  of  the  queen  was  directed  to  the  affairs 
of  Ireland,  which  had  been  conquered  by  Henry  II.  in  the  year 
1170,  but  over  which  only  an  imperfect  sovereignty  had  been 
exercised.  The  Irish  princes  and  nobles,  divided  among  them- 
selves, paid  the  exterior  marks  of  obedience,  but  kept  the  country 
in  a  constant  state  of  insurrection. 

The  impolitic  and  romantic  projects  of  the  English  princes  for 
subduing  France,  prevented  a  due  attention  to  Ireland,  ever  mis- 
erably governed.  Elizabeth  was  the  first  of  the  English  sov- 
ereigns to  perceive  the  political  importance  of  this  island,  and  the 
necessity  for  the  establishment  of  law  and  order.  Besides  furnish- 
ing governors  of  great  capacity,  she  founded  the  university  of 
Dublin,  and  attempted  to  civilize  the  half-barbarous  people.  Un- 
fortunately, she  also  sought  to  make  them  Protestants,  against 
their  will,  which  laid  the  foundation  of  many  subsequent  troubles, 
not  yet  removed.  A  spirit  of  discontent  pervaded  the  country, 
and  the  people  were  ready  for  rebellion.  Hugh  O'Neale,  the 
head  of  a  powerful  clan,  and  who  had  been  raised  to  the  dignity 
of  Earl  of  Tyrone,  yet  attached  to  the  barbarous  license  in  which 
he  had  been  early  trained,  fomented  the  popular  discontents,  and 
excited  a  dangerous  rebellion.  Hostilities,  of  the  most  sanguinary 
character,  commenced.  The  queen  sent  over  her  favorite,  the 
Earl  of  Essex,  with  an  army  of  twenty  thousand  men,  to  crush 
the  rebellion.  He  was  a  brave  commander,  but  was  totally  unac- 
quainted with  the  country  and  the  people  he  was  expected  to  sub- 
due, and  was,  consequently,  unsuccessful.  But  his  successor.  Lord 
Mountjoy,  succeeded  in  restoring  the  queen's  authority,  though  at 
the  cost  of  four  millions  and  a  half,  an  immense  sum  in  that  age, 
while  poor  Ireland  was  devastated  with  fire  and  sword,  and  suffered 
every  aggravation  of  accumulated  calamities. 

Meanwhile,  Essex,  who  had  returned  to  England  against  the 
queen's  orders,  was  treated  with  coldness,  deprived  of  his  employ- 
ments, and  sentenced  to  be  confined.  This  was  more  than  the 
haughty  favorite  could  bear,  accustomed  as  he  had  been  to  royal 
favor.  At  first,  he  acquiesced  in  his  punishment,  with  every  mark 
7* 


78  THE  EARL  OF  ESSEX.  [cHAP.  VI. 

of  penitence,  and  Elizabeth  was  beginning  to  relax  in  her  severity, 
for  she  never  intended  to  ruin  him  ;  but  he  soon  gave  vent  to  h\s^ 
violent  temper,  indulged  in  great  liberties  of  speech,  and  threw  off 
all  appearance  of  duty  and  respect.  He  even  engaged  in  trea- 
sonable designs,  encouraged  Roman  Catholics  at  his  house,  and 
corresponded  with  James  VI.  of  Scotland  about  his  succession. 
His  proceedings  were  discovered,  and  he  was  summoned  before 
the  privy  council.  Instead  of  obedience,  he  armed  himself  and 
his  followers,  and,  in  conjunction  with  some  discontented  nobles, 
and  about  three  hundred  gentlemen,  attempted  to  excite  an  insur- 
rection in  London,  where  he  was  very  popular  with  the  citizens. 
He  was  captured  and  committed  to  the  Tower,  with  the  Earl  of 
Southampton.  These  rash  but  brave  noblemen  were  tried  by  their 
peers,  and  condemned  as  guilty  of  high  treason.  In  this  trial, 
the  celebrated  Bacon  appeared  against  his  old  patron,  and  likened 
him  to  the  Duke  of  Guise.  The  great  lawyer  Coke,  who  was 
attorney-general,  compared  him  to  Catiline. 

Essex  disdained  to  sue  the  queen  for  a  pardon,  and  w£is  pri- 
vately beheaded  in  the  Tower.  He  merited  his  fate,  if  the  offence 
of  which  he  was  guilty  deserved  such  a  punishment.  It  is  impos- 
sible not  to  be  interested  in  the  fate  of  a  man  so  brave,  high-spir- 
ited, and  generous,  the  idol  of  the  people,  and  the  victor  in  so 
many  enterprises.  Some  historians  maintain  that  Elizabeth  re- 
lented, and  would  have  saved  her  favorite,  had  he  only  implored 
her  clemency ;  but  this  statement  is  denied  by  others ;  nor  have  we 
any  evidence  to  believe  that  Essex,  caught  with  arms  agamst  the 
sovereign  who  had  honored  him,  could  have  averted  his  fate. 

Elizabeth  may  have  wept  for  the  death  of  the  nobleman  she 
had  loved.  It  is  certain  that,  after  his  death,  she  never  regained 
her  spirits,  and  that  a  deep  melancholy  was  visible  in  her  counte- 
nance. All  her  actions  showed  a  deeply-settled  inward  grief,  and 
that  she  longed  for  death,  having  tasted  the  unsubstantial  nature 
of  human  greatness.  She  survived  the  execution  of  Essex  two 
years,  but  lived  long  enough  to  see  the  neglect  into  which  she  was 
every  day  falling,  and  to  feel  that,  in  spite  of  all  her  glory  and 
power,  she  was  not  exempted  from  drinking  the  cup  of  bitterness. 

Whatever  unamiable  qualities  she  evinced  as  a  woman,  in  spite 
of  her  vanity,  and  jealousy,  and  imperious  temper,  her  reign  was 


CHAP.  VI.]  CHARACTER    OF    ELIZABETH.  .  79 

one  of  the  most  glorious  in  the  annals  of  her  country.  The  policy 
of  Burleigh  was  the  policy  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole  —  that  of  peace, 
and  a  desire  to  increase  the  resources  of  the  kingdom.  Her  taxes 
were  never  oppressive,  and  were  raised  without  murmur;  the 
people  were  loyal  and  contented ;  the  Protestant  religion  was 
established  on  a  firm  foundation ;  and  a.  constellation  of  great  men 
shed  around  her  throne  the  bright  rays  of  immortal  genius. 

The  most  unhappy  peculiarity  of  her  reign  was  the  persecution 
of  the  Non-conformists,  which,  if  not  sanguinary,  was  irritating  and 
severe.  For  some  time  after  the  accession  of  Elizabeth,  the  Puri- 
tans were  permitted  to  indulge  in  their  peculiarities,  without  being 
excluded  from  the  established  church  ;  but  when  Elizabeth  felt 
herself  secure,  then  they  were  obliged  to  conform,  or  suffered  im- 
prisonment, fines,  and  other  punishments.  The  original  difficulty 
was  their  repugnance  to  the  surplice,  and  to  some  few  forms  of 
worship,  which  gradually  extended  to  an  opposition  to  the  order  of 
bishops ;  to  the  temporal  dignities  of  the  church ;  to  the  various 
titles  of  the  hierarchy  ;  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  spiritual  courts  ;  to 
the  promiscuous  access  of  all  persons  to  the  communion  table  ;  to 
the  liturgy  ;  to  the  observance  of  holydays  ;  to  the  cathedral  wor- 
ship ;  to  the  use  of  organs  ;  to  the  presentation  of  living  by  patrons  ; 
and  finally,  to  some  of  the  doctrines  of  the  established  church. 
The  separation  of  the  Puritans  from  the  Episcopal  church,  took 
place  in  1566  ;  and,  from  that  time  to  the  death  of  Elizabeth,  they 
enjoyed  no  peace,  although  they  sought  redress  in  the  most 
respectful  manner,  and  raised  no  opposition  to  the  royal  authority. 
Thousands  were  ejected  from  their  livings,  and  otherwise  punished, 
for  not  conforming  to  the  royal  conscience.  But  persecution  and 
penal  laws  fanned  a  fanatical  spirit,  which,  in  the  reign  of  Charles, 
burst  out  into  a  destructive  flame,  and  spread  devastation  and  ruin 
through  all  parts  of  the  kingdom. 

If  the  queen  and  her  ministers  did  not  understand  the  principles 
of  religious  toleration,  they  pursued  a  much  more  enlightened  policy 
in  regard  to  all  financial  and  political  subjects,  than  during  any 
former  reign.  The  commercial  importance  of  England  received 
a  new  impulse.  The  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  was  a  reign  of  spolia- 
tion. The  king  was  enriched  beyond  all  former  precedent,  bui 
his  riches  did  not  keep  pace  with  his  spendthrift  habits.     The 


60      IMPROVEMENTS  MADE  IN  THE  REIGN  OF  ELIZABETH.     [cHAP.  VI. 

value  of  Uie  abbey  lands  which  Henry  seized  amounted,  a  century 
after  his  death,  to  six  million  pounds.  The  lands  of  the  abbey  of 
St.  Alban's  alone  rented  for  two  hundred  thousand  pounds.  The 
king  debased  tlie  coin,  confiscated  chapels  and  colleges,  as  well  as 
monasteries,  and  raised  money  by  embargoes,  monopolies,  and 
compulsory  loans. 

But  Elizabeth,  instead  of  contracting  debts,  paid  off  the  old 
ones,  restored  the  coin  to  its  purity,  and  was  content  with  an 
annual  revenue  of  five  hundred  thousand  pounds,  even  at  a  time 
when  the  rebellion  in  Ireland  cost  her  four  hundred  thousand 
pounds.  Her  frugality  equalled  the  rapacity  of  her  father,  and 
she  was  extravagant  only  in  dress,  and  on  great  occasions  of  pub- 
lic rejoicings.  But  her  economy  was  a  small  matter  compared 
with  the  wise  laws  which  were  passed  respecting  the  trade  of  the 
country,  by  which  commercial  industry  began  to  characterize  the 
people.  Improvements  in  navigation  followed,  and  also  maritime 
discoveries  and  colonial  settlements.  Sir  Francis  Drake  circum- 
navigated the  globe,  and  the  East  India  Company  was  formed. 
Under  the  auspices  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  Virginia  was  discovered 
and  colonized.  Unfortunately,  also,  the  African  slave  trade  com- 
menced—  a  traffic  which  has  been  productive  of  more  human 
misery,  and  led  to  more  disastrous  political  evils,  than  can  be 
traced  to  any  other  event  in  the  history  of  modern  times. 

During  this  reign,  the  houses  of  the  people  became  more  com- 
fortable ;  chimneys  began  to  be  used ;  pewter  dishes  took  the  place 
of  wooden  trenchers,  and  wheat  was  substituted  for  rye  and  bar- 
ley ;  linen  and  woollen  cloth  was  manufactured ;  salads,  cabbages, 
gooseberries,  apricots,  pippins,  currants,  cherries,  plums,  carna- 
tions, and  the  damask  rose  were  cultivated,  for  the  first  time.  But 
the  great  glory  of  this  reign  was  the  revival  of  literature  and 
science.  Raleigh,  "  the  soldier,  the  sailor,  the  scholar,  the  philoso- 
pher, the  poet,  the  orator,  the  historian,  the  courtier,"  then  adorned 
the  court,  and  the  prince  of  poets,  the  immortal  Shakspeare,  then 
wrote  those  plays,  which,  for  moral  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  the 
human  soul,  appear  to  us  almost  to  be  dictated  by  the  voice  of 
inspiration.  The  prince  of  philosophers  too,  the  great  miner  and 
sapper  of  the  false  systems  of  the  middle  ages,  Francis  Bacon, 
then  commenced  his  career,  and  Spenser  dedicated  to  Elizabeth 


CHAP,  Vl.J  REFLECTIONS.  81 

his  "  Fairy  Queen,"  one  of  the  most  truly  poetical  compositions 
that  genius  ever  produced.  The  age  produced  also  great  divines ; 
but  these  did  not  occupy  so  prominent  a  place  in  the  nation's  eye 
as  during  the  succeeding  reigns. 

While  the  virgin  queen  was  exercising  so  benign  an  influence 
on  the  English  nation,  great  events,  tho.ugh  not  disconnected  with 
English  politics,  were  taking  place  on  the  continent.  The  most 
remarkable  of  these  was  the  persecution  of  the  Huguenots.  The 
rise  and  fortunes  of  this  sect,  during  the  reigns  of  Henry  11. , 
Francis  II.,  Charles  IX.,  Henry  III.,  and  Henry  IV.,  now  demand 
our  attention.  If  a  newspaper  had,  in  that  age,  been  conducted 
upon  the  principles  it  now  is,  the  sufferings  of  the  Huguenots 
would  always  be  noticed.  It  is  our  province  to  describe  just  what 
a  modern  newspaper  would  have  alluded  to,  had  it  been  printed 
three  hundred  years  ago.  It  would  not  have  been  filled  with 
genealogies  of  kings,  but  with  descriptions  of  great  popular  move- 
ments.    And  this  is  history. 


References.  —  For  the  history  of  this  reign,  see  Hume,  Lingard, 
and  Hallam ;  Miss  Strickland's  Queens  of  England ;  Life  of  Mary,  Queen 
of  Scots ;  M'Crie's  Life  of  Knox ;  Robertson's  History  of  Scotland ; 
Macaulay's  Essay  on  Nares's  Life  of  Bxirlcigh ;  Life  of  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh;  Neale's  History  of  the  Puritans.  Kenilworth  may  also  be 
profitably  read. 

G 


S2  CATHARINE   DE    MEDICIS.  [cHAP.  VII. 

CHAPTER    VII. 

FRANCIS  IL,  CHARLES  IX.,  HENRY  III.,  AND  HENRY  IV. 

The  history  of  France,  from  the  death  of  Francis  I.  to  the 
accession  of  Henry  IV.  is  virtually  the  history  of  religious  conten- 
tions and  persecutions,  and  of  those  civil  wars  which  grew  out  of 
them.  The  Huguenotic  contest,  then,  is  a  great  historical  subject, 
and  will  be  presented  in  connection  with  the  history  of  France, 
until  the  death  of  Henry  IV.,  the  greatest  of  the  French  monarchs, 
and  long  the  illustrious  head  of  the  Protestant  party. 

The  reform  doctrines  first  began  to  spread  in  France  during  the 
reign  of  Francis  I.  As  early  as  1523,  he  became  a  persecutor, 
and  burned  many  at  the  stake,  among  whom  the  descendants  of  the 
Waldenses  were  the  most  numerous.  In  1540,  sentence  was  pro- 
nounced against  them  by  the  parliament  of  Aix.  Their  doctrines 
were  the  same  in  substance  as  those  of  the  Swiss  reformers. 

While  this  persecution  was  raging,  John  Calvin  fled  from 
France  to  Ferrara,  from  which  city  he  proceeded  to  Geneva. 
This  was  in  ihe  year  1536,  when  his  theological  career  com- 
menced by  the  publication  of  his  Institutes,  which  were  dedicated 
to  Francis  I.,  one  of  the  most  masterly  theological  works  ever 
written,  although  compended  from  the  writings  of  Augustine.  The 
Institutes  of  Calvin,  the  great  text-book  of  the  Swiss  and  French 
reformers,  were  distasteful  to  the  French  king,  and  he  gave  fresh 
order  for  the  persecution  of  the  Protestants.  Notwithstanding  the 
hostility  of  Francis,  the  new  doctrines  spread,  and  were  embraced 
by  some  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  French  nobility.  The 
violence  of  persecution  was  not  much  arrested  during  the  reign  of 
Henry  II.,  and,  through  the  influence  of  the  Cardinal  of  Lorraine, 
the  inquisition  was  established  in  the  kingdom. 

The  wife  of  Henry  II.  was  the  celebrated  Catharine  de  Medicis ; 
and  she  was  bitterly  opposed  to  the  reform  doctrines,  and  incited 
her  husband  to  the  most  cruel  atrocities.  Francis  II.  continued 
the  persecution,  and  his  mother,  Catharine,  became  virtually  the 
ruler  of  the  nation. 


CHAP.   VII.J  CIVIL    WAR   IN    FRANCE.  8S 

The  power  of  the  queen  mother  was  much  increased  when 
Francis  II.  died,  and  when  his  brother,  Charles  IX.,  a  boy  of  nine 
years  of  age,  succeeded  to  the  French  crown.  She  exercised 
her  power  by  the  most  unsparing  reUgious  persecution  recorded  in 
the  history  of  modern  Europe.  There  had  been  some  hope  that 
Protestantism  would  be  estabUshed  in  France  ;  but  it  did  not  suc- 
ceed, owing  to  the  violence  of  the  persecution.  It  made,  however, 
a  desperate  struggle  before  it  was  overcome. 

At  the  head  of  the  Catholic  party  were  the  queen  regent,  the 
Cardinal  of  Lorraine,  the  Duke  of  Guise,  his  brother,  and  the  Con- 
stable Montmorency.  They  had  the  support  of  the  priesthood,  of 
the  Spaniards,  and  a  great  majority  of  the  nation. 

The  Protestants  were  headed  by  the  King  of  Navarre,  father  of 
Henry  IV.,  the  Prince  of  Conde,  his  brother,  and  Admiral  Coligny  ; 
and  they  had  the  sympathy  of  the  university,  the  parliaments,  and 
the  Protestants  of  Germany  and  England. 

Between  these  parties  a  struggle  lasted  for  forty  years,  with 
various  success.  Persecution  provoked  resistance,  but  resistance 
did  not  lead  to  liberty.  Civil  war  in  France  did  not  secure  the 
object  sought.  Still  the  Protestants  had  hope,  and,  as  they  could 
always  assemble  a  large  army,  they  maintained  their  ground. 
Their  conduct  was  not  marked  by  the  religious  earnestness  which 
characterized  the  Puritans,  or  by  the  same  strength  of  religious 
principle.  Moreover,  political  motives  were  mingled  with  religious. 
The  contest  was  a  struggle  for  the  ascendency  of  rival  chiefs,  as 
well  as  for  the  establishment  of  reformed  doctrines.  The  Bour- 
bons hated  the  Guises,  and  the  Guises,  resolved  to  destroy  the 
Bourbons.  In  the  course  of  their  rivalry  and  warfare,  the  Duke 
of  Guise  was  assassinated,  and  the  King  of  Navarre,  as  well  as 
the  Prince  of  Conde,  were  killed. 

Charles  IX.  was  fourteen  years  of  age  when  the  young  king  of 
Navarre, — at  that  time  sixteen  years  of  age, — and  his  cousin,  the 
Prince  of  Conde,  became  the  acknowledged  heads  of  the  Prot- 
estant party.  Their  education  was  learned  in  the  camp  and 
the  field  of  battle. 

Charles  IX.,  under  the  influence  of  his  hateful  mother,  finding 
that  civil  war  only  destroyed  the  resources  of  the  country,  without 
weakening  the  Protestants,  made  peace,  but  formed  a  plan  for 


84  MASSACRE    OF    ST.  BARTHOLOMEW.  [CHAP.  VII. 

their  extermination  by  treachery.  In  order  to  cover  his  designs, 
he  gave  his  sister,  Margaret  de  Valois,  in  marriage  to  the  King  of 
Navarre,  first  prince  of  the  blood,  then  nineteen  years  of  age. 
Admiral  Coligny  was  invited  to  Paris,  and  treated  with  distin- 
guished courtesy. 

It  was  during  the  festivities  which  succeeded  the  marriage  of  the 
King  of  Navarre  that  Coligny  was  murdered,  and  the  signal  for  the 
horrid  slaughter  of  St.  Bartholomew  was  given.  At  midnight, 
August  23,  1572,  the  great  bell  at  the  Hotel  de  Ville  began  to 
toll ;  torches  were  placed  in  the  windows,  chains  were  drawn 
across  the  streets,  and  armed  bodies  collected  around  the  hotels. 
The  doors  of  the  houses  were  broken  open,  and  neither  age,  con- 
dition, nor  sex  was  spared,  of  such  as  were  not  distinguished  by 
a  white  cross  in  the  hat.  The  massacre  at  Paris  was  followed  by 
one  equally  brutal  in  the  provinces.  Seventy  thousand  people 
were  slain  in  cold  blood.  The  King  of  Navarre  and  the  Prince  of 
Conde  only  escaped  in  consequence  of  their  relationship  with 
the  king,  and  by  renouncing  the  Protestant  religion. 

Most  of  the  European  courts  expressed  their  detestation  of  this 
foulest  crime  in  the  history  of  rehgious  bigotry;  but  the  pope 
went  in  grand  procession  to  his  cathedral,  and  ordered  a  Te  Dewn 
to  be  sung  in  commemoration  of  an  event  which  steeped  his  cause 
in  infamy  to  the  end  of  time. 

The  Protestants,  though  nearly  exterminated,  again  rallied,  and 
the  King  of  Navarre  and  his  cousin  the  Prince  of  Conde  escaped, 
renounced  the  religion  which  had  been  forced  on  them  by  fear  of 
death,  and  prosecuted  a  bloody  civil  war,  with  the  firm  resolution 
of  never  abandoning  it  until  religious  liberty  was  guarantied. 

Meanwhile,  Charles  IX.  died,  as  it  was  supposed,  by  poison. 
His  last  hours  were  wretched,  and  his  remorse  for  the  massacre 
of  St.  Bartholomew  filled  his  soul  with  agony.  He  beheld  spec- 
tres, and  dreamed  horrid  dreams ;  his  imagination  constantly  saw 
heaps  of  livid  bodies,  and  his  ears  were  assailed  with  imaginary 
groans.  He  became  melancholy  and  ferocious,  while  his  kingdom 
became  the  prey  of  factions  and  insurrections.  But  he  was  a 
timid  and  irresolute  king,  and  was  but  the  tool  of  his  infamous 
mother,  the  grand  patroness  of  assassins,  against  whom,  on  his 
death  bed,  he  cautioned  the  king  of  Navarre. 


CHAP.  VII.]  HENRY    III. HENRY    IV.  85 

He  was  succeeded  by  his  brother,  the  King  of  Poland,  under  the 
title  of  Henry  III.  The  persecutions  of  the  Huguenots  were 
renewed,  and  the  old  scenes  of  treachery,  assassination,  and  war 
were  acted  over  again.  The  cause  of  religion  was  lost  sight  of  in 
the  labyrinth  of  contentions,  jealousies,  and  plots.  Intrigues  and 
factions  were  endless.  Nearly  all  the  -leaders,  on  both  sides,  per- 
ished by  the  sword  or  the  dagger.  The  Prince  of  Conde,the  Duke 
of  Guise,  and  his  brother,  the  Cardinal  of  Lorraine,  were  assassi- 
nated. Shortly  after,  died  the  chief  mover  of  all  the  troubles, 
Catharine  de  Medicis,  a  woman  of  talents  and  persuasive  elo- 
quence, but  of  most  unprincipled  ambition,  perfidious,  cruel,  and 
dissolute.  She  encouraged  the  licentiousness  of  the  court,  and 
even  the  worst  vices  of  her  sons,  that  she  might  make  them  sub- 
servient to  her  designs.  All  her"^  passions  were  subordinate  to  her 
calculations  of  policy,  and  every  womanly  virtue  was  suppressed 
by  the  desire  of  wielding  a  government  which  she  usurped. 

Henry  III,  soon  followed  her  to  the  grave,  being,  in  turn,  assas- 
sinated by  a  religious  fanatic.  His  death  (1589)  secured  the 
throne  to  the  king  of  Navarre,  who  took  the  title  of  Henry  IV. 

Henry  IV.,  the  first  of  the  Bourbon  line,  was  descended  from 
Robert,  the  sixth  son  of  St.  Louis,  who  had  married  the  daughter 
and  heiress  of  John  of  Burgundy  and  Agnes  of  Bourbon.  He 
was  thirty-six  years  of  age  when  he  became  king,  and  had  passed 
through  great  experiences  and  many  sorrows.  Thus  far  he  had 
contended  for  Protestant  opinions,  and  was  the  acknowledged 
leader  of  the  Protestant  party  in  France.  But  a  life  of  contention 
and  bloodshed,  and  the  new  career  opened  to  him  as  king  of 
France,  cooled  his  religious  ardor,  and  he  did  not  hesitate  to 
accept  the  condition  which  the  French  nobles  imposed,  before  they 
would  take  the  oaths  of  allegiance.  This  was,  that  he  should  abjure 
Protestantism.  "  My  kingdom,"  said  he,  "  is  well  worth  a  mass." 
It  will  be  ever  laid  to  his  reproach,  by  the  Protestants,  that  he 
renounced  his  religion  for  worldly  elevation.  Nor  is  it  easy  to 
exculpate  him  on  the  highest  principles  of  moral  integrity.  But 
tliere  were  many  palliations  for  his  conduct,  which  it  is  not  now 
easy  to  appreciate.  It  is  well  known  that  the  illustrious  Sully,  his 
prime  minister,  and,  through  life,  a  zealous  Protestant,  approved 
of  his  course.  It  was  certainly  clear  that,  without  becoming  a 
8 


86  EDICT    OF    NANTTES.  [cHAP.  VIl. 

Catholic,  he  never  could  peaceably  enjoy  his  crown,  and  France 
would  be  rent,  for  another  generation,  by  those  civil  wars  which 
none  lamented  more  than  Henry  himself.  Besides,  four  fifths  of 
the  population  were  Catholics,  and  the  Protestants  could  not  rea- 
sonably expect  to  gain  the  ascendency.  All  they  could  expect 
was  religious  toleration,  and  this  Henry  was  willing  to  grant.  It 
should  also  be  considered  that  the  king,  though  he  professed  the 
reform  doctrines,  was  never  what  may  be  called  a  religious  man, 
being  devoted  to  pleasure,  and  to  schemes  of  ambition.  It  is  true 
he  understood  and  consulted  the  interests  of  his  kingdom,  and 
strove  to  make  his  subjects  happy.  Herein  consists  his  excel- 
lence. As  a  magnanimous,  liberal-minded,  and  enterprising  man, 
he  surpassed  all  the  French  kings.  But  it  is  ridiculous  to  call  him 
a  rehgious  man,  or  even  strongly  fixed  in  his  religious  opinions. 
"  Do  you,"  said  the  king  to  a  great  Protestant  divine,  "  believe 
that  a  man  may  be  saved  by  the  Catholic  religion  ?  "  "  Undoubt- 
edly," replied  the  clergyman,  "  if  his  life  and  heart  be  holy." 
"  Then,"  said  the  king,  "  prudence  dictates  that  I  embrace  the 
Catholic  religion,  and  not  yours ;  for,  in  that  case,  according  to 
both  Catholics  and  Protestants,  I  may  be  saved ;  but,  if  I  embrace 
your  religion,  I  shall  not  be  saved,  according  to  the  Catholics." 

But  the  king's  conversion  to  Catholicism  did  not  immediately 
result  in  the  tranquillity  of  the  distracted  country.  The  Catholics 
would  not  believe  in  his  sincerity,  and  many  battles  had  to  be 
fought  before  he  was  in  peaceable  enjoyment  of  his  throne.  But 
there  is  nothing  so  hateful  as  civil  war,  especially  to  the  inhabit- 
ants of  great  cities ;  and  Paris,  at  last,  and  the  chief  places  in 
the  kingdom,  acknowledged  his  sway.  The  king  of  Spain,  the 
great  Catholic  prelates,  and  the  pope,  finally  perceived  how  hope- 
less was  the  struggre  against  a  man  of  great  military  experience, 
with  a  devoted  army  and  an  enthusiastic  capital  on  his  side. 

The  peace  of  Verviens,  in  1598,  left  the  king  without  foreign 
or  domestic  enemies.  From  that  period  to  his  death,  his  life  was 
devoted  to  the  welfare  of  his  country. 

His  first  act  was  the  celebrated  Edict  of  Nantes,  by  which  the 
Huguenots  had  quiet  and  undisturbed  residence,  the  free  exercise 
of  their  religion,  and  public  worship,  except  in  the  court,  the 
army,  and  within  five  leagues  of  Paris.     They  were  eligible  to  all 


CHAP.  VII.]     IMPROVEMENTS    DURING    THE    REIGN    OF    HENRY  IV.     87 

offices,  civil  and  military ;  and  all  public  prosecutions,  on  account 
of  religion,  were  dropped.  This  edict  also  promulgated  a  general 
amnesty  for  political  offences,  and  restored  property  and  titles,  as 
before  the  war ;  but  the  Protestants  were  prohibited  from  printing 
controversial  books,  and  were  compelled  to  pay  tithes  to  the 
established  clergy. 

Henry  IV.,  considering  the  obstacles  with  which  he  had  to  con- 
tend, was  the  greatest  general  of  the  age  ;  but  it  is  his  efforts  in 
civilization  which  entitle  him  to  his  epithet  of  Great. 

The  first  thing  which  demanded  his  attention,  as  a  civil  ruler, 
was  the  settlement  of  the  finances  —  ever  the  leading  cause  of 
troubles  with  the  French  government.  These  were  intrusted  to 
the  care  of  Rosny,  afterward  Duke  of  Sully,  the  most  able  and 
upright  of  all  French  financiers  —  a  man  of  remarkable  probity 
and  elevation  of  sentiment.  He  ever  continued  to  be  the  minister 
and  the  confidant  of  the  king,  and  maintained  his  position  without 
subserviency  or  flattery,  almost  the  only  man  on  the  records  of 
history  who  could  tell,  with  impunity,  wholesome  truths  to  an  abso- 
lute monarch.  So  wise  were  his  financial  arrangements,  that  a 
debt  of  three  hundred  million  of  livres  was  paid  off  in  eight  years. 
In  five  years,  the  taxes  were  reduced  one  half,  the  crown  lands 
redeemed,  the  arsenals  stored,  the  fortifications  rebuilt,  churches 
erected,  canals  dug,  and  improvements  made  in  every  part  of  the 
kingdom.  On  the  death  of  the  king,  he  had  in  his  treasury  nearly 
fifty  millions  of  livres.  Under  the  direction  of  this  able  minister, 
the  laws  were  enforced,  robbery  and  vagrancy  were  nearly 
stopped,  and  agriculture  received  a  great  impulse.  But  economy 
was  the  order  of  the  day.  The  king  himself  set  an  illustrious 
example,  and  even  dressed  in  gray  cloth,  with  a  doublet  of  taffeta, 
without  embroidery,  dispensed  with  all  superfluity  at  his  table, 
and  dismissed  all  useless  servants. 

The  management  and  economy  of  the  king  enabled  him  to 
make  great  improvements,  besides  settling  the  deranged  finances 
of  the  kingdom.  He  built  innumerable  churches,  bridges,  con- 
vents, hospitals,  fortresses,  and  ships.  Some  of  the  finest  palaces 
which  adorn  Paris  were  erected  by  him.  He  was  also  the  patron 
of  learning,  the  benefits  of  which  he  appreciated.  He  himself 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  writings  of  the  ancients.     He  was 


88  PEACE    SCHEME    OF    HENRY    IV.  [cHAP.  VII. 

particularly  fond  of  the  society  of  the  learned,  with  whom  he 
conversed  with  freedom  and  affability.  He  increased  the  libraries, 
opened  public  schools,  and  invited  distinguished  foreigners  to 
Paris,  and  rewarded  them  with  stipends.  Lipsius,  Scaliger,  and 
De  Thou,  were  the  ornaments  of  his  court. 

And  his  tender  regard  to  the  happiness  and  welfare  of  his  sub- 
jects was  as  marked  as  his  generous  appreciation  of  literature  and 
science.  It  was  his  ambition  to  be  the  father  of  his  people  ;  and 
his  memorable  saying,  "  Yes,  I  will  so  manage  matters  that  the 
poorest  peasant  in  my  kingdom  may  eat  meat  each  day  in  the 
week,  and,  moreover,  be  enabled  to  put  a  fowl  in  the  pot  on  a 
Sunday,"  has  alone  embalmed  his  memory  in  the  affections  of 
the  French  nation,  who,  of  all  their  monarchs,  are  most  partial 
to  Henry  IV. 

But  this  excellent  king  was  also  a  philanthropist,  and  cherished 
the  most  enlightened  views  as  to  those  subjects  on  which  rests  the 
happiness  of  nations.  Though  a  warrior,  the  preservation  of  a 
lasting  peace  was  the  great  idea  of  his  life.  He  was  even  vision- 
ary in  his  projects  to  do  good ;  for  he  imagined  it  was  possible  to 
convince  monarchs  that  they  ought  to  prefer  purity,  peace,  and 
benevolence,  to  ambition  and  war.  Hence,  he  proposed  to  estab- 
lish a  Congress  of  Nations,  chosen  from  the  various  states  of 
Europe,  to  whom  all  international  difficulties  should  be  referred, 
with  power  to  settle  them  —  a  very  desirable  object,  the  most  so 
conceivable  ;  for  war  is  the  greatest  of  all  national  calamities  and 
crimes.  The  scheme  of  the  enlightened  Henry,  however,  did  not 
attract  much  attention ;  and,  even  had  it  been  encouraged,  would 
have  been  set  aside  in  the  next  generation.  What  would  such 
men  as  Frederic  the  Great,  or  Marlborough,  or  Louis  XIV.,  or  Na- 
poleon have  cared  for  such  an  object  ?  But  Henry,  in  his  scheme, 
also  had  in  view  the  regulation  of  such  forces  as  the  European 
monarchs  should  sustain,  and  this  arose  from  his  desire  to  preserve 
the  "  Balance  of  Power  "  —  the  great  object  of  European  poli- 
ticians in  these  latter  times. 

But  Henry  was  not  permitted,  by  Providence,  to  prosecute  his 
benevolent  designs.  He  was  assassinated  by  a  man  whom  he  had 
never  injured  —  by  the  most  unscrupulous  of  all  misguided  men  — 
a  religious  bigot.     The  Jesuit  Ravaillac,  in  a  mood,  as  it  is  to  be 


CHAP.  VII.]  DEATH    OF    HENRY   IV.  89 

hoped,'  bordering  on  madness,  perpetrated  the  foul  deed.  But 
Henry  only  suffered  the  fate  of  nearly  all  the  distinguished  actors 
in  those  civil  and  religious  contentions  which  desolated  France  for 
forty  years.  He  died  in  1610,  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven,  having 
reigned  twenty-one  years,  nine  of  which  were  spent  in  uninter- 
rupted warfare. 

By  his  death  the  kingdom  was  thrown  into  deep  and  undissem- 
bled  mourning.  Many  fell  speechless  in  the  streets  when  the  intel- 
ligence of  his  assassination  was  known ;  others  died  from  excess 
of  grief.  All  felt  that  they  had  lost  more  than  a  father,  and 
nothing  was  anticipated  but  storms  and  commotions. 

He  left  no  children  by  his  wife,  Margaret  de  Valois,  who  proved 
inconstant,  and  from  whom  he  was  separated.  By  his  second 
wife,  Mary  de  Medicis,  he  had  three  children,  the  oldest  of  whom 
was  a  child  when  he  ascended  the  throne,  by  the  title  of  Louis  XIII. 
His  daughter,  Henrietta,  married  Charles  I.  of  England. 

Though  great  advances  were  made  in  France  during  this  reign, 
it  was  still  far  from  that  state  of  civilization  which  it  attained  a 
century  afterwards.  It  contained  about  fifteen  million  of  inhabit- 
ants, and  Paris  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand.  The  nobles 
were  numerous  and  powerful,  and  engrossed  the  wealth  of  the 
nation.  The  people  were  not  exactly  slaves,  but  were  reduced  to 
great  dependence,  were  uneducated,  degraded,  and  enjoyed  but 
few  political  or  social  privileges.  They  were  oppressed  by  the 
government,  by  the  nobles,  and  by  the  clergy. 

The  highest  official  dignitary  was  the  constable,  the  second 
the  keeper  of  the  seals,  the  third  the  chamberlain,  then  the  six 
or  eight  marshals,  then  the  secretary  of  state,  then  gentlemen 
of  the  household,  and  military  commanders.  The  king  was 
nearly  absolute.  The  parliament  was  a  judicial  tribunal,  which 
did  not  enact  laws,  but  which  registered  the  edicts  of  the  king. 

Commerce  and  manufactures  were  extremely  limited,  and  far 
from  flourishing ;  and  the  arts  were  ,  in  an  infant  state.  Archi- 
tecture, the  only  art  in  which  half-civilized  nations  have  excelled, 
was  the  most  advanced,  and  was  displayed  in  the  churches  and 
royal  palaces.  Paris  was  crowded  with  uncomfortable  houses,  and 
the  narrow  streets  were  favorable  to  tumult  as  well  as  pestilence 
Tapestry  was  the  most  common  and  the  most  expensive  of  the 
8* 


90  FRANCE   AT    THE    DEATH    OF    HENRY   IV.        [cHAP.  VII. 

arts,  and  the  hangings,  in  a  single  room,  oflen  reached  a  sum 
which  would  be  equal,  in  these  times,  to  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  The  floors  of  the  palaces  were  spread  with  Turkey  car^ 
pets.  Chairs  were  used  only  in  kings'  palaces,  and  carriages  were 
but  just  introduced,  and  were  clumsy  and  awkward.  Mules  were 
chiefly  used  in  travelling,  the  horses  being  reserved  for  war. 
Dress,  especially  of  females,  was  gorgeous  and  extravagant ;  false 
hair,  masks,  trailed  petticoats,  and  cork  heels  ten  inches  high, 
were  some  of  the  peculiarities.  The  French  then,  as  now,  were 
fond  of  the  pleasures  of  the  table,  and  the  hour  for  dinner  was 
eleven  o'clock.  Morals  were  extremely  low,  and  gaming  was  a 
universal  passion,  in  which  Henry  IV.  himself  extravagantly 
indulged.  The  advice  of  Catharine  de  Medicis  to  her  son 
Charles  IX.  showed  her  knowledge  of  the  French  character,  even 
as  it  exists  now :  "  Twice  a  week  give  public  assemblies,  for  the 
specific  secret  of  the  French  government  is,  to  keep  the  people 
always  cheerful ;  for  they  are  so  restless  you  must  occupy  them, 
during  peace,  either  with  business  or  amusement,  or  else  they  will 
involve  you  in  trouble." 

Such  was  France,  at  the  death  of  Henrj'  IV.,  1610,  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  powerful  of  the  European  kingdoms,  though  far 
from  the  greatness  it  was  destined  afterwards  to  attain. 

A  more  powerful  monarchy,  at  this  period,  was  Spain.  As  this 
kingdom  was  then  in  the  zenith  of  its  power  and  glory,  we  will 
take  a  brief  survey  of  it  during  the  reign  of  Philip  II.,  the  suc- 
cessor of  Charles  V.,  a  person  to  whom  we  have  often  referred. 
With  his  reign  are  closely  connected  the  struggles  of  the  Hol- 
landers to  secure  their  civil  and  religious  independence.  The  Low 
Countries  were  provinces  of  Spain,  and  therefore  to  be  considered 
in  connection  with  Spanish  history. 


References.  —  For  a  knowledge  of  France  during  the  reign  of  Henry  TV., 
see  James's  History  of  Henry  FV. ;  James's  Life  of  Cond6 ;  History  of  the 
Huguenots.  Rankin's  and  Crowe's  Histories  of  France  are  the  best  in 
English,  but  far  inferior  to  Sismondi's,  Millot's,  and  Lacretelle's.  Sully'j 
Memoirs  throw  considerable  light  on  this  period,  and  Dumas's  Margaret 
de  Valois  may  be  read  with  profit. 


CHAP.  VIII.]  BIGOTRY    OF    PHILIP    II.  91 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

PHILIP  II.  AND  THE  AUSTRIAN  .PRINCES  OF  SPAIN. 

Spain  cannot  be  said  to  have  been  a  powerful  state  until  the 
reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella ;  when  the  crowns  of  Castile  and 
Arragon  were  united,  and  when  the  discoveries  of  Columbus  added 
a  new  world  to  their  extensive  territories.  Nor,  during  the  reign 
of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  was  the  power  of  the  crown  as-^bso- 
lute  as  during  the  sway  of  the  Austrian  princes.  The  nobles 
were  animated  by  a  bold  and  free  spirit,  and  the  clergy  dared  to 
resist  the  encroachments  of  royalty,  and  even  the  usurpations  of 
Rome.  Charles  V.  succeeded  in  suppressing  the  power  of  the 
nobles,  and  all  insurrections  of  the  people,  and  laid  the  foundation 
for  the  power  of  his  gloomy  son,  Philip  II.  With  Philip  commenced 
the  grandeur  of  the  Spanish  monarchy.  By  him,  also,  were  sown 
the  seeds  of  its  subsequent  decay.  Under  him,  the  inquisition 
was  disgraced  by  ten  thousand  enormities,  Holland  was  overrun 
by  the  Duke  of  Alva,  and  America  conquered  by  Cortes  and 
Pizarro.  It  was  he  who  built  the  gorgeous  palaces  of  Spain,  and 
who,  with  his  Invincible  Armada,  meditated  the  conquest  of  Eng- 
land. The  wealth  of  the  Indies  flowed  into  the  royal  treasury,  and 
also  enriched  all  orders  and  classes.  Silver  and  gold  became  as 
plenty  at  Madrid  as  in  old  times  at  Jerusalem  under  the  reign  of 
Solomon.  But  Philip  was  a  different  prince  from  Solomon.  His 
talents  and  attainments  were  respectable,  but  he  had  a  jealous  and 
selfish  disposition,  and  exerted  all  the  energies  of  his  mind,  and 
all  the  resources  of  his  kingdom,  to  crush  the  Protestant  religion, 
and  the  liberties  of  Europe. 

Among  the  first  acts  of  his  reign  was  the  effort  to  extinguish 
Protestantism  in  the  Netherlands,  an  assemblage  of  seigniories, 
under  various  titles,  subject  to  his  authority.  The  opinions  of 
Luther  and  Calvin  made  great  progress  in  this  country,  and  Philip, 
in  order  to  repress  them,  created  new  bishops,  and  established  the 
Inquisition.  The  people  protested,  and  these  protests  were  con- 
sidered as  rebellious. 


92  REVOLT   OF  THE   NETHERLANDS.  [cHAP.  VIIL 

At  the  head  of  the  nobility  was  William,  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
on  whom  Philip  had  conferred  the  government  of  Holland,  Zea- 
land, Friesland,  and  Utrecht,  provinces  of  the  Netherlands.  He 
was  a  haughty  but  resolute  and  courageous  character,  and  had 
adopted  the  opinions  of  Calvin,  for  which  he  lost  the  confidence 
of  Philip.  In  the  prospect  of  destruction,  he  embraced  the  reso- 
lution of  delivering  his  country  from  the  yoke  of  a  merciless  and 
bigoted  master.  Having  reduced  the  most  important  garrisons  of 
Holland  and  Zealand,  he  was  proclaimed  stadtholder,  and  openly 
threw  off  his  allegiance  to  Spain.  Hostilities,  of  course,  com- 
menced. Alva,  the  general  of  Philip,  took  the  old  city  of  Haer- 
lem,  «nd  put  fifteen  hundred  to  the  sword,  among  whom  were  all 
tlie  magistrates,  and  all  the  Protestant  clergy. 

Don  John,  Archduke  of  Austria,  and  the  brother  of  Philip,  suc- 
ceeded the  Duke  of  Alva,  during  whose  administration  the  seven 
United  Provinces  formed  themselves  into  a  confederation,  and  chose 
the  Prince  of  Orange  to  be  the  general  of  their  armies,  admiral 
of  their  fleets,  and  chief  magistrate,  by  the  title  of  stadtholder. 
But  William  was  soon  after  assassinated  by  a  wretch  who  had  been 
bribed  by  the  exasperated  Philip,  and  Maurice,  his  son,  received 
his  title,  dignities,  and  power.  His  military  talents,  as  the  antago- 
nist of  the  Duke  of  Parma,  lieutenant  to  Philip,  in  the  Netherlands, 
secured  him  a  high  place  in  the  estimation  of  warriors.  To  pro- 
tect this  prince  and  the  infant  republic  of  Holland,  Queen  Eliza- 
beth sent  four  thousand  men  under  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  her 
favorite;  and,  with  this  ass'  *i nee,  the  Hollanders  maintained  their 
ground  against  the  most  powerful  monarch  in  Europe,  as  has  been 
already  mentioned  in  the  chapter  on  Elizabeth. 

After  the  loss  of  the  Netherlands,  the  next  great  event  of  his 
reign  was  the  acquisition  of  Portugal,  to  which  he  laid  claim  on 
the  death  of  Don  Henry,  in  1581.  There  were  several  other 
claimants,  but  Philip,  with  an  army  of  twenty  thousand,  was 
stronger  than  any  of  the  others.  He  gained  a  decisive  victory 
over  Don  Antonio,  uncle  to  the  last  monarch,  and  was  crowned  at 
Lisbon  without  opposition. 

The  revolt  of  the  Moriscoes  occupies  a  prominent  place  in  the 
annals  of  this  reign.  They  were  Christianized  Moors,  but,  at 
heart,  Mohammedans.     A  decree  had  been  published  that  their 


CHAP.  VIII.]  REVOLT    OF   THE   MORISCOES.  93 

children  should  frequent  the  Christian  church,  that  the  Arabic  should 
no  longer  be  used  in  writing,  that  both  men  and  women  should 
wear  the  Spanish  costume,  that  they  no  longer  should  receive  Mo- 
hammedan names,  or  marry  without  permission.  The  Moriscoes 
contended  that  no  particular  dress  involved  religious  opinions,  that 
the  women  used  the  veil  according  to. their  notions  of  modesty, 
that  the  use  of  their  own  language  was  no  sin,  and  that  baths  were 
used,  not  from  religious  motives,  but  for  the  sake  of  cleanliness. 
These  expostulations  were,  however,  without  effect.  Nothing 
could  move  the  bigoted  king.  So  revolt  followed  cruelty  and 
oppression.  Great  excesses  were  committed  by  both  parties, 
and  most  horrible  barbarities  were  exhibited.  The  atrocious 
nature  of  civil  war  is  ever  the  same,  and  presents  nearly  the  same 
undeviating  picture  of  misery  and  crime.  But  in  this  war  there 
was  something  fiendish.  A  clergyman  was  roasted  over  a  brazier, 
and  the  women,  wearied  with  his  protracted  death,  despatched  him 
with  their  needles  and  knives.  The  rebels  ridiculed  the  sacrifice 
of  the  mass  by  slaughtering  a  pig  on  the  high  altar  of  a  church. 
These  insults  were  retaliated  with  that  cruelty  which  Spanish 
bigotry  and  malice  know  so  well  how  to  inflict.  Thousands  of 
defenceless  women  and  children  were  murdered  in  violation  of  the 
most  solemn  treaties.  The  whole  Moorish  population  was  finally 
exterminated,  and  Granada,  with  its  beautiful  mountains  and 
fertile  valleys,  was  made  a  desert.  No  less  than  six  hundred 
thousand  were  driven  to  Africa  —  an  act  of  great  impolicy,  since 
the  Moriscoes  were  the  most  ingenio*  ' 'Vid  industrious  part  of  the 
population  ;  and  their  exile  contributed  to  undermine  that  national 
prosperity  in  which,  at  that  day,  every  Spaniard  gloried.  But 
destruction  ever  succeeds  pride  ;  infatuation  and  blindness  are  the 
attendants  of  despotism. 

The  destruction  of  the  Spanish  Armada,  and  the  losses  which 
the  Spaniards  suffered  from  Sir  Francis  Drake  and  Admiral  Haw- 
kins, have  already  been  mentioned.  But  the  pride  of  Philip  was 
mortified,  rather  than  that  his  power  was  diminished.  His  am- 
bition received  a  check,  and  he  found  it  impossible  to  conquer 
England.  His  finances,  too,  became  deranged  ;  still  he  remained 
the  absolute  master  of  the  richest  kingdom  in  the  world. 

The  decline  of  the  Spanish  monarchy  dates  from  his  death, 


94     CAUSES  OF  DECLINE  OF  THE  SPANISH  MONARCHY.    [cHAP.  Vlll. 

which  took  place  in  his  magnificent  palace  of  the  Escurial,  in  1598. 
Under  his  son  Philip  III.,  decline  became  very  marked,  and  future 
ruin  could  be  predicted. 

The  principal  cause  of  the  decline  of  prosperity  was  the  great 
increase  of  the  clergy,  and  the  extent  of  their  wealth.  In  the 
Spanish  dominions,  which  included  Spain,  Naples,  Milan,  Parma, 
Sicily,  Sardinia,  the  Netherlands,  Portugal,  and  the  Indies,  there 
were  fifty-four  archbishops,  six  hundred  and  eighty-four  bishops, 
seven  thousand  hospitals,  one  hundred  thousand  abbeys  and  nun- 
neries, six  hundred  thousand  monks,  and  three  hundred  and  ten 
thousand  secular  priests  —  a  priest  to  every  ten  families.  Almost 
every  village  had  a  monastery.  The  diocese  of  Seville  had  four- 
teen thousand  priests,  nearly  the  present  number  of  all  the  clergy 
of  the  establishment  in  England.  The  cathedral  of  Seville  gave 
support  and  occupation  to  one  hundred  priests. 

And  this  numerous  clergy  usurped  the  power  and  dignities  of 
the  state.  They  also  encouraged  that  frightful  inquisition,  the 
very  name  of  which  conjures  up  the  most  horrid  images  of  death 
and  torture.  This  institution,  committed  to  the  care  of  Dominican 
monks,  was  instituted  to  put  down  heresy  ;  that  is,  every  thing  in 
poetry,  philosophy,  or  religion,  which  was  distasteful  to  the  despots 
of  the  human  mind.  The  inquisitors  had  power  to  apprehend 
people  even  suspected  of  heresy,  and,  on  the  testimony  of  two 
witnesses,  could  condemn  them  to  torture,  imprisonment,  and 
death.  Resistance  was  vain ;  complaint  was  ruin.  Arrests  took 
place  suddenly  and  secretly.  Nor  had  the  prisoner  a  knowledge 
of  his  accusers,  or  of  the  crimes  of  which  he  was  accused.  The 
most  delicate  maidens,  as  well  as  men  of  hoary  hairs  and  known 
integrity,  were  subjected  to  every  outrage  that  human  nature  could 
bear,  or  satanic  ingenuity  inflict.  Should  the  jailer  take  compas- 
sion, and  bestow  a  few  crumbs  of  bread  or  drops  of  water,  he 
would  be  punished  as  the  greatest  of  traitors.  Even  nobles  were 
not  exempted  from  the  supervision  of  this  court,  which  was  estab- 
lished in  every  village  and  town  in  Portugal  and  Spain,  and  which, 
in  the-  single  city  of  Toledo,  condemned,  in  one  year,  seventeen 
thousand  people.  This  institution  was  tolerated  by  the  king,  since 
he  knew  very  well  that  there  ever  exists  an  intimate  union  be- 
tween absolutism  in  religion  and  absolutism  in  government. 


CHAP.  VIII.]       THE   INCREASE    OF   GOLD   AND   SILVER.  95 

Besides  the  spiritual  despotism  which  the  clergy  of  Spain  exer- 
cised over  a  deluded  people,  but  a  people  naturally  of  fine  elements 
of  character,  the  sudden  increase  of  gold  and  silver  led  to  luxury, 
idleness,  and  degeneracy.  Money  being  abundant,  in  consequence 
of  the  gold  and  silver  mines  of  America,  the  people  neglected  the 
cultivation  of  those  things  which  money  could  procure.  Then 
followed  a  great  rise  in  the  prices  of  all  kinds  of  provision  and 
clothing.  Houses,  lands,  and  manufactures  also  soon  rose  in 
value.  Hence  money  was  delusive,  since,  with  ten  times  the 
increase  of  specie,  there  was  a  corresponding  decrease  in  those 
necessaries  of  life  which  gold  and  silver  would  purchase.  Sil- 
ver and  gold  are  only  the  medium  of  trade,  not  the  basis  of 
wealth.  The  real  prosperity  of  a  country  depends  upon  the 
amount  of  productive  industry.  If  diamonds  were  as  numerous 
as  crystals,  they  would  be  worth  no  more  than  crystals.  The 
sudden  influx  of  the  precious  metals  into  Spain  doubtless  gave  a 
temporary  wealth  to  the  kingdom ;  but  when  habits  of  industry 
were  lost,  and  the  culture  of  the  soil  was  neglected,  the  gold  and 
silver  of  the  Spaniards  were  exchanged  for  the  productive  industry 
of  other  nations.  The  Dutch  and  the  English,  whose  manufac- 
tures and  commerce  were  in  a  healthy  state,  became  enriched  at 
their  expense.  With  the  loss  of  substantial  wealth,  that  is,  in- 
dustry and  economy,  the  Spaniards  lost  elevation  of  sentiment, 
became  cold  and  proud,  followed  frivolous  pleasures  and  amuse- 
ments, and  acquired  habits  which  were  ruinous.  Plays,  panto- 
mimes, and  bull-fights  now  amused  the  lazy  and  pleasure-seeking 
nation,  while  the  profligacy  of  the  court  had  no  parallel  in  Europe, 
with  the  exception  of  that  of  France.  The  country  became 
exhausted  by  war.  The  finances  were  deranged,  and  province 
after  province  rebelled.  Every  where  were  military  reverses, 
and  a  decrease  of  population.  Taxes,  in  the  mean  while,  in- 
creased, and  a  burdened  people  lamented  in  vain  their  misfortune 
and  decline.  The  reign  of  Philip  IV.  was  the  most  disastrous  in 
the  annals  of  the  country.  The  Catalan  insurrection,  the  loss  of 
Jamaica,  the  Low  Countries,  and  Portugal,  were  the  results  of 
his  misrule  and  imbecility.  So  rapidly  did  Spain  degenerate,  that, 
upon  the  close  of  the  Austrian  dynasty,  with  all  the  natural  advan- 
tages of  the  country,  the  best  harbors  and  sea-coast  in  Europe,  the 


96  DECLINE    OF    THE    SPANISH    MONARCHY.       [cHAP.  VIII. 

richest  soil,  and  the  finest  climate,  and  with  the  possession  of  the 
Indies  also,  the  people  were  the  poorest,  the  most  ignorant,  and 
the  most  helpless  in  Europe.  The  death  of  Charles  II.,  a  miser- 
able, afflicted,  superstitious,  priest-ridden  monarch,  left  Spain 
without  a  king,  and  the  vacant  throne  became  the  prize  of  any 
monarch  in  Europe  who  could  raise  and  send  across  the  Pyre- 
nees the  largest  army.  It  fell  mto  the  power  of  Louis  XIV.,  and 
the  Bourbon  princes  have  ever  since  in  vain  attempted  the 
restoration  of  the  broken  monarchy  to  its  former  glory.  But,  alas, 
Spam  has,  since  the  spoliation  of  the  Mexicans  and  Peruvians,  only 
a  melancholy  history  —  a  history  of  crime,  bigotry,  anarchy,  and 
poverty.  The  Spaniards  committed  awful  crimes  in  their  lust 
for  gold  and  silver.  "^They  had  their  request,"  but  God,  in  his 
retributive  justice,  "  sent  leanness  into  their  souls." 


For  the  history  of  Spain  during  the  Austrian  princes,  see  a  history  in 
Lardner's  Encyclopedia ;  Watson's  Life  of  Philip  11. ;  James's  Foreign 
Statesmen;  Schiller's  Revolt  of  the  Netherlands;  Russell's  Modern 
Europe  ;  Prescotf  s  Conquest  of  Mexico  and  Peru. 


CHAP.  IX.]  THE  ROMAN  POWER  IN  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.  97 


CHAPTER     IX. 

THE    JESUITS,    AND    THE     PAPAL    POWER    IN    THE    SEVEN 
.  TEENTH    CENTURY. 

During  the  period  we  have  just  been  considering,  the  most 
marked  peculiarity  was,  the  struggle  between  Protestantism  and 
Romanism.  It  is  true  that  objects  of  personal  ambition  also 
occupied  the  minds  of  princes,  and  many  great  events  occurred, 
which  were  not  connected  with  the  struggles  for  religious  liberty 
and  light.  But  the  great  feature  of  the  age  was  the  insurrection 
of  human  intelligence.  There  was  a  spirit  of  innovation,  which 
nothing  could  suppress,  and  this  was  directed,  in  the  main,  to  mat- 
ters of  religion.  The  conflict  was  not  between  church  and  state, 
but  between  two  great  factions  in  each.  "  No  man  asked  whether 
another  belonged  to  the  same  country  as  himself,  but  whether  he 
belonged  to  the  same  sect."  Luther,  Calvin,  Zwingle,  Knox, 
Cranmer,  and  Bacon  were  the  great  pioneers  in  this  march  of 
innovation.  They  wished  to  explode  the  ideas  of  the  middle 
ages,  in  philosophy  and  in  religion.  They  made  war  upon  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  as  the  great  supporter  and  defender  of 
old  ideas.  They  renounced  her  authority.  She  summoned  her 
friends  and  vassals,  rallied  all  her  forces,  and,  with  desperate 
energy,  resolved  to  put  down  the  spirit  of  reform.  The  struggles 
of  the  Protestants  in  England,  Germany,  France,  and  the  Nether- 
lands, alike  manifested  the  same  spirit,  were  produced  by  the 
same  causes,  and  brought  forth  the  same  results.  The  insurrection 
was  not  suppressed. 

The  hostile  movements  of  Rome,  for  a  while,  were  carried  on 
by  armies,  massacres,  assassinations,  and  inquisitions.  The  duke 
of  Alva's  cruelties  in  the  Netherlands,  St.  Bartholomew's  massa- 
cre in  France,  inquisitorial  tortures  in  Spain,  and  Smithfield  burn- 
ings in  England,  illustrate  this  assertion.  But  more  subtle  and 
artful  agents  were  required,  especially  since  violence  had  failedl 
Men  of  simple  lives,  of  undoubted  piety,  of  earnest  zeal,  and'  sin- 
9  H 


98  RISE    OF    THE   JESUITS.  [cHAP.  IX. 

gular  disinterestedness  to  their  cause,  arose,  and  did  what  the  sword 
and  the  stake  could  not  do, — revived  Catholicism,  and  caused  a 
reaction  to  Protestantism  itself.  These  men  were  Jesuits,  the  most 
faithful,  intrepid,  and  successful  soldiers  that  ever  enlisted  under 
the  banners  of  Rome.  The  rise  and  fortunes  of  this  order  of 
monks  form  one  of  the  most  important  and  interesting  chapters  in 
the  history  of  the  human  race.  Their  victories,  and  the  spirit  which 
achieved  them,  are  well  worth  our  notice.  In  considering  them, 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  that  the  Jesuits  have  exhibited  traits  so 
dissimilar  and  contradictory,  that  it  is  difficult  to  form  a  just  judg- 
ment. While  they  were  achieving  their  victories,  they  appeared 
in  a  totally  different  light  from  what  distinguished  them  when  they 
reposed  on  their  laurels.  In  short,  the  earlier  and  the  latter 
Jesuits  were  entirely  different  in  their  moral  and  social  aspects, 
although  they  had  the  same  external  organization. '  The  principles 
of  their  system  were  always  the  same.  The  men  who  defended 
them,  at  first,  were  marked  by  great  virtues,  but  afterwards  were 
deformed  by  equally  as  great  vices.  It  was  in  the  early  days  of 
Jesuitism  that  the  events  we  have  recorded  took  place.  Hence  our 
notice,  at  present,  will  be  confined  to  the  Jesuits  when  they  were 
worthy  of  respect,  and,  in  some  things,  even  of  admiration.  Their 
courage,  fidelity,  zeal,  learning,  and  intrepidity  for  half  a  century, 
have  not  been  exaggerated. 

The  founder  of  the  order  was  Ignatius  Loyola,  a  Spanish  gen- 
tleman of  noble  birth,  who  first  appeared  as  a  soldier  at  the  siege 
of  Pampeluna,  where  he  was  wounded,  about  the  time  that  Luther 
was  writing  his  theses,  and  disputing  about  'indulgences.  He 
amused  himself,  on  his  sick  bed,  by  reading  the  lives  of  the  saints. 
His  enthusiastic  mind  was  affected,  and  he  resolved  to  pass  from 
worldly  to  spiritual  knighthood.  He  became  a  saint,  after  the 
notions  of  the  age ;  that  is,  he  fasted,  wore  sackcloth,  lived  on  roots 
and  herbs,  practised  austerities,  retired  to  lonely  places,  and  spent 
his  time  in  contemplation  and  prayer.  The  people  were  attracted 
by  his  sanctity,  and  followed  him  in  crowds.  His  heart  burned  to 
convert  heretics ;  and,  to  prepare  himself  for  his  mission,  he  went 
to  the  universities,  and  devoted  himself  to  study.  There  he  made 
some  distinguished  converts,  all  of  whom  afterwards  became 
famous.     In  his  narrow  cell,  at  Paris,  he  induced  Francis  Xavier, 


CHAP.  IX.]  RAPID   SPREAD    OF    THE    JESUIT    ORDER.  99 

Faber,  Laynez,  Bobadilla,  and  Rodriguez  to  embrace  his  views, 
and  to  form  themselves  into  an  association,  for  the  conversion  of 
the  world.  On  the  summit  of  Montmartre,  these  six  young  men, 
on  one  star-lit  night,  took  the  usual  monastic  vows  of  poverty^ 
chastity,  and  obedience,  and  solemnly  devoted  themselves  to  their 
new  mission.  .       ^ 

They  then  went  to  Rome,  to  induce  the  pope  to  constitute  them 
a  new  missionary  order.  But  they  were  ridiculed  as  fanatics. 
Moreover,  for  several  centuries,  there  had  been  great  opposition  in 
Rome  against  the  institution  of  new  monastic  orders.  It  was 
thought  that  there  were  orders  enough ;  that  the  old  should  be 
reformed,  not  new  ones  created.  Even  St.  Dominic  and  St. 
Francis  had  great  difficulty  in  getting  their  orders  instituted.  But 
Loyola  and  his  companions  made  extraordinary  offers.  They  pro- 
fessed their  willingness  to  go  wherever  the  pope  should  send  them, 
among  Turks,  heathens,  or  heretics,  instantly,  without  condition,  or 
reward. 

How  could  the  pope  refuse  to  license  them  ?  His  empire  was 
in  danger ;  Luther  was  in  the  midst  of  his  victories ;  the  power 
<if  ideas  and  truth  was  shaking  to  its  centre  the  pontifical  throne  ; 
all  the  old  orders  had  become  degenerate  and  inefficient,  and  the 
pope  did  not  know  where  to  look  for  efficient  support.  The  vener- 
able Benedictines  were  revelling  in  the  wealth  of  their  splendid 
abbeys,  while  the  Dominicans  and  the  Franciscans  had  become 
itinerant  vagabonds,  peddling  relics  and  indulgences,  and  forgetful 
of  those  stern  duties  and  virtues  which  originally  characterized 
them.  All  the  monks  were  inexhaustible  subjects  of  sarcasm  and 
mockery.  They  even  made  scholasticism  ridiculous,  and  the  papal 
dogmas  contemptible.  Erasmus  laughed  at  them,  and  Luther 
mocked  them.  They  were  sensual,  lazy,  ignorant,  and  corrupt. 
The  pope  did  not  want  such  soldiers.  But  the  followers  of  Loyola 
were  full  of  ardor,  talent,  and  zeal ;  willing  to  do  any  thing  for  a 
sinking  cause ;  able  to  do  any  thing,  so  far  as  human  will  can 
.ivail.  And  they  did  not  disappoint  the  pope.  Great  additions 
were  made.  They  increased  with  marvellous  rapidity.  The 
zealous,  devout,  and  energetic,  throughout  all  ranks  in  the  Catholic 
church,  joined  them.  They  spread  into  all  lands.  They  became 
the  confessors  of  kings,  the  teachers  of  youth,  the  most  popular 


100  RAPID   SPREAD   OF   THE   JESUITS.  [cHAP.  IX. 

preachers,  the  most  successful  missionaries.  In  sixteen  years  after 
the  scene  of  Montmartre,  Loyola  had  established  his  society  in  the 
affections  and  confidence  of  Catholic  Europe,  against  the  voice  of 
universities,  the  fears  of  monarchs,  and  the  jealousy  of  the  other 
monastic  orders.  In  sixteen  years,  from  the  condition  of  a  ridi- 
culed fanatic,  whose  voice,  however,  would  have  been  disregarded 
a  century  earlier  or  later,  he  became  one  of  the  most  powerful 
dignitaries  of  the  church,  influencing  the  councils  of  the  Vatican, 
moving  the  minds  of  kings,  controlling  the  souls  of  a  numerous 
fraternity,  and  making  his  power  felt,  even  in  the  courts  of  Japan 
and  China.  Before  he  died,  his  spiritual  sons  had  planted  their 
missionary  stations  amid  Peruvian  mines,  amid  the  marts  of  the 
African  slave  trade,  in  the  islands  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  in  the 
cities  of  Japan  and  China.  Nay,  his  followers  had  secured  the 
most  important  chairs  in  the  universities  of  Europe,  and  had  be- 
come confessors  to  the  most  powerful  monarchs,  teachers  in  the 
best  schools  of  Christendom,  and  preachers  in  its  principal  pulpits. 
They  had  become  an  organization,  instinct  with  life,  endued  with 
energy  and  will,  and  forming  a  body  which  could  outwatch  Argus 
with  his  hundred  eyes,  and  outwork  Briareus  with  his  hundred 
arms.  It  had  forty  thousand  eyes  open  upon  every  cabinet  and 
private  family  in  Europe,  and  forty  thousand  arms  extended  over 
the  necks  of  both  sovereigns  and  people.  It  had  become  a  mighty 
power  in  the  world,  inseparably  connected  with  the  education  and 
the  religion  of  the  age,  the  prime  mover  of  all  political  affairs,  the 
grand  prop  of  absolute  monarchies,  the  last  hope  of  the  papal 
hierarchy. 

The  sudden  growth  and  enormous  resources  of  the  "  Society  of 
Jesus  "  impress  us  with  feelings  of  amazement  and  awe.  We 
almost  attribute  them  to  the  agency  of  mysterious  powers,  and 
forget  the  operations  of  natural  causes.  The  history  of  society 
shows  that  no  body  of  men  ever  obtained  a  wide-spread  ascen- 
dency, except  by  the  exercise  of  remarkable  qualities  of  mind  and 
heart.  And  this  is  the  reason  why  the  Jesuits  prospered.  When 
Catholic  Europe  saw  young  men,  born  to  fortune  and  honors,  vot- 
untarily  surrendering  their  rank  and  goods,  devoting  themselves 
to  religious  duties,  spending  their  days  in  hospitals  and  schools, 
wandering,  as  missionaries,  into  the  most  unknown  and  dangerous 


CHAP.  IX.l    EXTRAORDINARY    VIRTUES    OF    THE    OLDER    JESUITS.    101 

parts  of  the  world,  exciting  the  young  to  study,  making  great 
attainments  in  all  departments  of  literature  and  science,  and 
shedding  a  light,  wherever  they  went,  by  their  genius  and  disin- 
terestedness, it  was  natural  that  they  would  be  received  as  preach- 
ers, teachers,  and  confessors.  That  they  were  characterized,  dur- 
ing the  first  fifty  years,  by  such  excellencies,  has  never  been 
denied.  The  Jesuit  missionary  called  forth  the  praises  of  Baxter, 
and  the  panegyric  of  Leibnitz.  He  went  forth,  without  fear,  to 
encounter  the  most  dreaded  dangers.  MartjTdom  was  nothing  to 
him,  for  he  knew  that  the  altar,  which  might  stream  with  his  blood, 
would,  in  after  times,  be  a  cherished  monument  of  his  fame,  and 
an  impressive  emblem  of  the  power  of  his  religion.  Francis 
Xavier,  one  of  the  first  converts  of  Loyola,  a  Spaniard  of  rank, 
traversed  a  tract  of  more  than  twice  the  circumference  of  the 
globe,  preaching,  disputing,  and  baptizing,  until  seventy  thousand 
converts  attested  the  fruits  of  his  mission.  In  perils,  fastings,  and 
fatigues,  was  the  life  of  this  remarkable  man  passed,  to  convert 
the  heathen  world  ;  and  his  labors  have  never  been  equalled,  as  a 
missionary,  except  by  the  apostle  Paul.  But  China  and  Japan 
werie  not  the  only  scenes  of  the  enterprises  of  Jesuit  missionaries. 
As  early  as  1634,  they  penetrated  into  Canada,  and,  shortly  after, 
to  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  prairies  of  Illinois.  "  My 
companion,"  said  the  fearless  Marquette,  "  is  an  envoy  of  France, 
to  discover  new  countries  ;  but  I  am  an  ambassador  of  God,  to 
enlighten  them  with  the  gospel."  But  of  all  the  missions  of  the 
Jesuits,  those  in  Paraguay  were  the  most  successful.  They  there 
gathered  together,  in  reductions^  or  villages,  three  hundred  thou- 
sand Indians,  and  these  were  bound  together  by  a  common  interest, 
were  controlled  by  a  paternal  authority,  taught  useful  arts,  and 
trained  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  civilization.  On  the  distant  banks 
of  the  La  Plata,  while  the  Spanish  colonists  were  hunting  the 
Mexicans  and  Peruvians  with  bloodhounds,  or  the  English  slave 
traders  were  consigning  to  eternal  bondage  the  unhappy  Africans, 
the  Jesuits  were  realizing  the  ideal  paradise  of  More  —  a  Utopia, 
where  no  murders  or  robberies  were  committed,  and  where  the 
blessed  flowers  of  peace  and  harmony  bloomed  in  a  garden  of 
almost  primeval  loveliness. 

In  that  age,  the  Jesuit  excelled  in  any  work  to  which  he  devoted 
9* 


102  THE   CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    JESUITS.  [cHAP.  IX. 

his  attention.  He  was  not  only  an  intrepid  missionary,  but  a  mosi 
successful  teacher.  Into  the  work  of  education  he  entered  heart 
and  soul.  He  taught  gratuitously,  without  any  crabbed  harshness, 
and  with  a  view  to  gain  the  heart.  He  entered  mto  the  feelings 
of  his  pupils,  and  taught  them  to  subdue  their  tempers,  and  avoid 
quarrels  and  oaths.  He  excited  them  to  enthusiasm,  perceived  their 
merits,  and  rewarded  the  successful  with  presents  and  favors. 
Hence  the  schools  of  the  Jesuits  were  the  best  in  Europe,  and 
were  highly  praised  even  by  the  Protestants.  The  Jesuits  were 
even  more  popular  as  preachers  than  they  were  as  teachers  ;  and 
they  were  equally  prized  as  confessors.  They  were  so  successful 
and  so  respected,  that  they  soon  obtained  an  ascendency  in  Europe. 
Veneration  secured  wealth,  and  their  establishments  gradually 
became  magnificently  endowed.  But  all  their  influence  was 
directed  to  one  single  end  —  to  the  building  up  of  the  power  of 
the  popes,  whose  obedient  servants  they  were.  Can  we  wonder 
that  Catholicism  should  revive  ? 

Again,  their  constitution  was  wonderful,  and  admirably  adapted 
to  the  ends  they  had  in  view.  Their  vows  were  indeed  substan- 
tially the  same  as  those  of  other  monks,  but  there  was  among  them 
a  more  practical  spirit  of  obedience.  All  the  members  were  con- 
trolled by  a  single  will  —  all  were  passive  instruments  in  the  hands 
of  the  general  of  the  order.  He  appointed  presidents  of  colleges 
and  of  religious  houses ;  admitted,  dismissed,  dispensed,  and  pun- 
ished at  his  pleasure.  His  power  was  irresponsible,  and  for  life. 
From  his  will  there  was  no  appeal.  There  were  among  them 
many  gradations  in  rank,  but  each  gradation  was  a  gradation  in 
slavery.  The  Jesuit  was  bound  to  obey  even  his  own  servant,  if 
required  by  a  superior.  Obedience  was  the  soul  of  the  institution, 
absolute,  unconditional,  and  unreserved  —  even  the  submission  of 
the  will,  to  the  entire  abnegation  of  self.  The  Jesuit  gloried  in, 
being  made  a  puppet,  a  piece  of  machinery,  like  a  soldier,  if 
the  loss  of  his  intellectual  independence  would  advance  the  inter- 
ests of  his  order.  The  esprit  de  corps  was  perfectly  wonderful ; 
and  this  spirit  was  one  secret  of  the  disinterestedness  of  the  body. 
"  Ad  majorem  Dei  gloriam^''  was  the  motto  emblazoned  on  their 
standards,  and  written  on  their  hearts ;  but  this  glory  of  God  was 
synonymous  with  the  ascendency  of  their  association. 


CHAP.  IX.]  DEGENEKACY    OF   THE   JESUITS.  103 

The  unconditional  obedience  to  a  single  will,  which  is  the 
genius  of  Jesuitism,  while  it  signally  advanced  the  interests  of  the 
body,  and  of  the  pope,  to  whom  they  were  devoted,  stilf  fed  to  the 
most  detestable  and  resistless  spiritual  despotism  ever  exercised  by 
man.  The  Jesuit,  especially  when  obscure  and  humble,  was  a 
tool,  rather  than  an  intriguer.  He  wa^  bound  hand  and  foot  by 
the  orders  of  his  superiors,  and  they  alone  were  responsible  for  his 
actions. 

We  can  easily  see  how  the  extraordinary  virtues  and  attain- 
ments of  the  ^early  Jesuits,  and  the  wonderful  mechanism  of  their 
system,  would  promote  the  growth  of  the  order  and  the  interests  of 
Rome,  before  the  suspicions  of  good  people  would  be  aroused. 
It  was  a  long  time  after  their  piety  had  passed  to  fraud,  their 
simplicity  to  cunning,  their  poverty  to  wealth,  their  humility  to 
pride,  and  their  indifference  to  the  world  to  cabals,  intrigues,  and 
crimes,  before  the  change  was  felt.  And,  moreover,  it  was  more 
than  a  century  before  the  fruits  of  the  system  were  fully  reaped. 
With  all  the  excellences  of  their  schools  and  missions,  dangerous 
notions  and  customs  were  taught  in  them,  which  gradually  de- 
stroyed their  efficacy.  A  bad  system  often  works  well  for  a  while, 
but  always  carries  the  seeds  of  decay  and  ruin.  It  was  so  with 
the  institution  of  Loyola,  in  spite  of  the  enthusiasm  and  sincerity 
of  the  early  members,  and  the  masterly  wisdom  displayed  by  the 
founders.  In  after  times,  evils  were  perceived,  which  had,  at 
first,  escaped  the  eye.  It  was  seen  that  the  system  of  education, 
though  specious,  and,  in  many  respects,  excellent,  was  calculated 
to  narrow  the  mind,  while  it  filled  it  with  knowledge.  Young  men, 
in  their  colleges,  were  taught  blindly  to  follow  a  rigid  mechanical 
code  ;  they  were  closely  watched ;  all  books  were  taken  from 
them  of  a  liberal  tendency ;  mutilated  editions  of  such  as  could 
not  be  denied  only  were  allowed  ;  truths  of  great  importance  were 
concealed  or  glossed  over ;  exploded  errors  were  revived,  and 
studies  recommended  which  had  no  reference  to  the  discussion  of 
abstract  questions  on  government  or  religion.  And  the  boys 
were  made  spies  on  each  other,  their  spirits  were  broken,  and 
their  tastes  perverted.  The  Jesuits  sought  to  guard  the  avenues 
to  thought,  not  to  open  them,  were  jealous  of  all  independence  of 
mind,  and  never  sought  to  go  beyond  their  age,  or  base  any 
movement  on  ideal  standards. 


104  EVILS    IN    THE   JESUIT   SYSTEM.  [cHAP.  IX. 

Again,  as  preachers,  though  popular  and  eloquent,  they  devoted 
their  talents  to  convert  men  to  tlie  Roman  church  rather  than  to 
God.  They  were  bigoted  sectarians;  strove  to  make  men 
Catholics  rather  than  Christians.  As  missionaries,  they  were  con- 
tent with  a  mere  nominal  conversion.  They  gave  men  the 
crucifix,  but  not  the  Bible,  and  even  permitted  their  converts  to 
retain  many  of  their  ancient  superstitions  and  prejudices.  And 
thus  they  usurped  the  authority  of  native  rulers,  and  sought  to 
impose  on  China  and  Japan  their  despotic  yoke.  They  greatly 
enriched  themselves  in  consequence  of  the  credulity  of  the  natives, 
whom  they  flattered,  and  wielded  an  unlawful  power.  And  this 
is  one  reason  why  they  were  expelled,  and  why  they  made  no 
permanent  conquests  among  the  millions  they  converted  in  Japan. 
They  wished  not  only  to  subjugate  the  European,  but  the  Asiatic 
mind.  Europe  did  not  present  a  field  sufliciently  extensive  for 
their  cupidity  and  ambition. 

Finally,  as  confessors,  they  were  peculiarly  indulgent  to  those 
who  sought  absolution,  provided  their  submission  was  complete. 
Then  it  was  seen  what  an  easy  thing  it  was  to  bear  the  yoke  of 
Christ  The  offender  was  told  that  sin  consisted  in  wilfulness, 
and  wilfulness  in  the  perfect  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  sin, 
according  to  which  doctrine  blindness  and  passion  were  sufficient 
exculpations.  They  invented  the  doctrine  of  mental  reservation, 
on  which  Pascal  was  so  severe.  Perjury  was  allowable,  if  the 
j)erjured  were  inwardly  determined  not  to  swear.  A  man  might 
fight  a  duel,  if  in  danger  of  being  stigmatized  as  a  coward ;  he 
might  betray  his  friend,  if  he  could  thus  benefit  his  party. 
The  Jesuits  invented  a  system  of  casuistry  which  confused  all 
established  ideas  of  moral  obligation.  They  tolerated,  and  some 
of  them  justified,  crimes,  if  the  same  could  be  made  subservient  to 
the  apparent  interests  of  the  church.  Their  principle  was  to  do 
evil  that  good  might  come.  Above  all,  they  conformed  to  the 
inclinations  of  the  great,  especially  to  those  of  absolute  princes,  on 
whom  they  imposed  no  painful  penance,  or  austere  devotion. 
Their  sympathies  always  were  with  absolutism,  in  all  its  forms, 
and  they  were  the  chosen  and  trusted  agents  of  the  despots  of 
mankind,  until  even  the  eyes  of  Europe  were  open  to  their  vast 
ambition,  which  sought  to  erect  an  independent  empire  within  the 


CHAP.  IX.]   THE  POPES  IN  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.      105 

limits  of  despotism  itself.  But  the  corruptions  of  the  Jesuits,  their 
system  of  casuistry,  their  lax  morality,  their  disgraceful  intrigues, 
their  unprincipled  rapacity,  do  not  belong  to  the  age  we  have  now- 
been  considering.  These  fruits  of  a  bad  system  had  not  then 
been  matured ;  and  the  infancy  of  the  society  was  as  beautiful  as 
its  latter  days  were  disgraceful  and  fearful.  In  a  future  chapter, 
we  shall  glance  at  the  decline  and  fall  of  this  celebrated  institution 
—  the  best  adapted  to  its  proposed  ends  of  any  system  ever  de- 
vised by  the  craft  and  wisdom  of  man. 

The  great  patrons  of  the  Jesuits — the  popes  and  their  empire 
in  the  sixteenth  century,  after  the  death  of  Luther  —  demand 
some  notice.  The  Catholic  church,  in  this  century,  was  remark- 
able for  the  reformation  it  attempted  within  its  own  body,  and 
for  the  zeal,  and  abiUty,  and  virtue,  which  marked  the  character 
of  many  of  the  popes  themselves.  Had  it  not  been  for  this  counter 
reforr]g,ation.  Protestantism  would  have  obtained  a  great  ascendency 
in  Europe.  But  the  Protestants  were  divided  among  themselves, 
while  the  Catholics  were  united,  and  animated  with  singular  zeal. 
They  put  forth  their  utmost  energies  to  reconquer  what  they  had 
lost.  They  did  not  succeed  in  this,  but  they  secured  the  ascend- 
ency, on  the  whole,  of  the  Catholic  cause  in  Europe.  For  this 
ascendency  the  popes  are  indebted  to  the  Jesuits. 

At  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  popes  possessed  a 
well-situated,  rich,  and  beautiful  province.  All  writers  celebrated 
its  fertility.  Scarcely  a  foot  of  land  remained  uncultivated.  Com 
was  exported,  and  the  ports  were  filled  with  ships.  The  people 
were  courageous,  and  had  great  talents  for  business.  The  middle 
classes  were  peaceful  and  contented,  but  the  nobles,  who  held  in 
their  hands  the  municipal  authority,  were  turbulent,  rapacious,  and 
indifferent  to  intellectual  culture.  The  popes  were  generally 
virtuous  characters,  and  munificent  patrons  of  genius.  Gregory 
XIII.  kept  a  list  of  men  in  every  country  who  were  likely  to  acquit 
themselves  as  bishops,  and  exhibited  the  greatest  caution  in  ap- 
pointing them.  Sixtus  V.,  whose  father  was  an  humble  gardener, 
encouraged  agriculture  and  manufactures,  husbanded  the  resources 
of  the  state,  and  filled  Rome  with  statues.  He  raised  the  obelisk 
in  front  of  St.  Peter's,  and  completed  the  dome  of  the  Cathedral. 
Clement   VIII.   celebrated   the   mass  himself,  and   scrupulously 


106  NEPOTISM  OF  THE  POPES.  [cHAP.  IX. 

devoted  himself  to  religious  duties.  He  was  careless  of  the 
pleasures  which  formerly  characterized  the  popes,  and  admitted 
every  day  twelve  poor  persons  to  dine  with  him.  Paul  V.  had 
equal  talents  and  greater  authority,  but  was  bigoted  and  cold. 
Gregory  XIV.  had  all  the  severity  of  an  ancient  monk.  The  only 
religious  peculiarity  of  the  popes,  at  the  latter  end  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  which  we  unhesitatingly  condemn,  was,  their  religious  in- 
tolerance. But  they  saw  that  their  empire  would  pass  away,  unless 
they  used  vigorous  and  desperate  measures  to  retain  it.  During 
this  period,  the  great  victories  of  the  Jesuits,  the  establishment  of 
their  colleges,  and  the  splendid  endowments  of  their  churches  took 
place.  Gregory  XV.  built,  at  his  own  cost,  the  celebrated  church 
of  St.  Ignatius,  at  Rome,  and  instituted  the  Propaganda,  a  mis- 
sionary institution,  under  the  control  of  the  Jesuits. 

The  popes,  whether  good  or  bad,  did  not  relinquish  their  nep- 
otism in  this  century,  in  consequence  of  which  great  families 
arose  with  every  pope,  and  supplanted  the  old  aristocracy.  The 
Barberini  family,  in  one  pontificate,  amassed  one  hundred  and 
five  millions  of  scudi  —  as  great  a  fortune  as  that  left  by  Mazarin. 
But  they,  enriched  under  Urban  VII.,  had  to  flee  from  Rome 
under  Innocent  X.  Jealousy  and  contention  divided  and  distracted 
all  the  noble  families,  who  vied-  with  each  other  in  titles  and 
pomp,  ceremony  and  pride.  The  ladies  of  the  Savelli  family 
never  quitted  their  palace  walls,  except  in  closely  veiled  carriages. 
The  Visconti  decorated  their  walls  with  the  portraits  of  the  popes 
of  their  line.  The  Gaetana  dwelt  with  pride  on  the  memory  of 
Boniface  VIII.  The  Colonna  and  Orsini  boasted  that  for  cen- 
turies no  peace  had  been  concluded  in  Christendom,  in  which 
they  had  not  been  expressly  included.  But  these  old  fami- 
lies had  become  gradually  impoverished,  and  yielded,  in  wealth  and 
power,  though  not  in  pride  and  dignit)^  to  the  Cesarini,  Borghesi, 
Aldobrandini,  Ludovisi,  Giustiniani,  Chigi,  and  the  Barberini. 
All  these  families,  from  which  popes  had  sprung,  had  splendid 
palaces,  villas,  pictures,  libraries,  and  statues  ;  and  they  contrib- 
uted to  make  Rome  the  centre  of  attraction  for  the  elegant  and 
the  literary  throughout  Europe.  It  was  still  the  moral  and  social 
centre  of  Christendom.  It  was  a  place  to  which  all  strangers 
resorted,  and  from  which  all  intrigues  sprung.     It  was  the  scene 


CHAP.  IX.]     ROME  IN  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.         107 

of  pleasure,  gayety,  and  grandeur.  And  the  splendid  fabric, 
which  was  erected  in  the  "  ages  of  faith,"  in  spite  of  all  the  ca- 
lamities and  ravages  of  time,  remained  still  beautiful  and  attrac- 
tive. Since  the  first  secession,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  Rome  has 
lost  none  of  her  adherents,  and  those,  who  remained  faithful,  have 
become  the  more  enthusiastic  in  their  idolatry. 


\ 


References.  —  Ranke's  History  of  the  Popes.  Father  Bouhour's  Life 
of  Ignatius  Loyola.  A  Life  of  Xavier,  by  the  same  author.  Stephens's 
Essay  on  Loyola.  Charlevoix's  History  of  Paraguay.  Pascal's  Provincial 
Letters.  Macaulay's  Review  of  Ranke's  History  of  the  Popes.  Bancroft's 
chapter,  in  the  History  of  the  United  States,  oil  the  colonization  of 
Canada.  "Secreta  Monita."  Histoire  des  Jesuites.  <' Spiritual  Exer- 
cises." Dr.  WiUiams's  Essay.  History  of  Jesuit  Missions.  The  works 
on  the  Jesuits  are  very  numerous ;  but  those  which  are  most  accessible 
are  c^f  a  violent  partisan  character.  Eugene  Sue,  in  his  "  Wandering 
Jew,"  has  given  false,  but  strong,  impressions.  Lifidel  writers  have  gen- 
erally been  the  most  bitter,  with  the  exception  of  English  and  Scotch 
authors,  in  the  seventeenth  century.  The  great  work  of  Ranke  is  the 
most  impartial  with  which  the  author  is  acquainted.  Ranke's  histories 
should  never  be  neglected,  of  which  admirable  translations  have  been 
made. 


108  POLITICAL  TROUBLES  AFTEB  THE  DEATH  OF  LUTHEE.  [cHAP.  X. 


CHAPTER    X. 

THIRTY    YEARS'    WAR. 

The  contests  which  arose  from  the  discussion  of  religious  ideas 
did  not  close  with  the  sixteenth  century.  They  were,  on  the  other 
hand,  continued  with  still  greater  acrimony.  Protestantism  had 
been  suppressed  in  France,  but  not  in  Holland  or  Germany.  In 
England,  the  struggle  was  to  continue,  not  between  the  Catholics 
and  Protestants,  but  between  different  parties  among  the  Protes- 
tants themselves.  In  Germany,  a  long  and  devastating  war  of 
thirty  years  was  to  be  carried  on  before  even  religious  liberty 
could  be  guaranteed. 

This  struggle  is  the  most  prominent  event  of  the  seventeenth 
century  before  the  English  Revolution,  and  was  attended  with  the 
most  important  religious  and  political  consequences.  The  event 
itself  was  one  of  the  chief  political  consequences  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. Indeed,  all  the  events  of  this  period  either  originated  in,  or 
became  mixed  up  with,  questions  of  religion. 

From  the  very  first  agitation  of  the  reform  doctrines,  the  house 
of  Austria  devoted  against  their  adherents  the  whole  of  its  im- 
mense political  power.  Charles  V.  resolved  to  suppress  Protes- 
tantism, and  would  have  perhaps  succeeded,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  various  wars  which  distracted  his  attention,  and  for  the  decided 
stand  which  the  Protestant  princes  of  Germany  took  respecting 
Luther  and  his  doctrines.  As  early  as  1530,  was  formed  the 
league  of  Smalcalde,  headed  by  the  elector  of  Saxony,  the  most 
powerful  of  the  German  princes,  next  to  the  archduke  of  Austria. 
The  princes  who  formed  this  league,  resolved  to  secure  to  their 
subjects  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion,  in  spite  of  all  opposi- 
tion from  the  Catholic  powers.  But  hostilities  did  not  commence 
until  after  Luther  had  breathed  his  last.  The  Catholics  gained  a 
great  victory  at  the  battle  of  MiJhlberg,  when  the  Elector  of  Sax- 
ony was  taken  prisoner.  With  the  treaty  of  Smalcalde,  the  free- 
dom of  Germany  seemed   prostrate  forever,  and  the  power  of 


^(>- 


CHAP.  X.]  DIET    OF   AUGSBUEG.  109 

Austria  reached  its  meridian.  But  the  cause  of  liberty  revived 
under  Maurice  of  Saxony,  once  its  formidable  enemy.  All  the 
fruits  of  victory  were  lost  again  in  the  congress  of  Passau,  and  the 
diet  of  Augsburg,  when  an  equitable  peace  seemed  guaranteed  to 
the  Protestants. 

The  diet  of  Augsburg,  1555^  the  year  of  the  resignation  of 
Charles  V.,  divided  Germany  into  two  great  political  and  religious 
parties,  and  recognized  the  independence  of  each.  The  Protes- 
tants were  no  longer  looked  upon  as  rebels,  but  as  men  who  had  a 
right  to  worship  God  as  they  pleased.  Still,  in  reality,  all  that  the 
Lutherans  gained  was  toleration,  not  equality.  The  concessions 
of  the  Catholics  were  made  to  necessity,  not  to  justice.  Hence, 
the  treaty  of  Augsburg  proved  only  a  truce,  not  a  lasting  peace. 
The  boundaries  of  both  parties  were  marked  out  by  the  sword,  and 
by  the  sword  only  were  they  to  be  preserved. 

For  a  while,  however,  peace  was  preserved,  and  might  have 
continued  longer,  had  it  not  been  for  the  dissensions  of  Protestants 
among  themselves,  caused  by  the  followers  of  Calvin  and  Luther. 
The  Lutherans  would  not  include  the  Calvinists  in  their  com- 
munion, and  the  Calvinists  would  not  accede  to  the  Lutheran 
church.  During  these  dissensions,  the  Jesuits  sowed  tares,  and  the 
Protestants  lost  the  chance  of  establishing  their  perfect  equality 
with  the  Catholics. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  bitterness  and  jealousy  which  existed 
between  sects  and  parties,  still  the  peace  of  Germany,  in  a  political 
sense,  was  preserved  during  the  reign  of  Ferdinand,  the  founder 
of  the  German  branch  of  the  house  of  Austria,  and  who  suc- 
ceeded his  brother  Charles  V.  On  his  death,  in  1564,  his  son  Max- 
mciilian  II.,  was  chosen  emperor,  and  during  his  reign,  and  until 
his  death,  in  1576,  Germany  enjoyed  tranquillity.  His  successor 
was  his  son  Rodolph,  a  weak  prince,  and  incapable  of  uniting  the 
various  territories  which  were  hereditary  in  his  family — Austria, 
Hungary,  Transylvania,  Bohemia,  Moravia,  and  Styria.  There 
were  troubles  in  each  of  these  provinces,  and  one  after  another 
revolted,  until  Rodolph  was  left  with  but  the  empty  title  of  empe- 
ror. But  these  provinces  acknowledged  the  sway  of  his  brother 
Matthias,  who  had  delivered  them  from  the  Turks,  and  had  granted 
the  Protestants  liberty  of  conscience.  The  emperor  was  weak 
10 


110     COMMENCEMENT  OF  THE  THIETY  YEARS'  WAR.   [cHAP.  X. 

enough  to  confirm  his  brother  in  his  usurpation.     In   1612,  he 
died,  and  Matthias  mounted  the  imperial  throne. 

It  was  during  the  reign  of  thisprince,thattheThirty  Years' War 
commenced.  In  proportion  as  the  reformed  rehgion  gained 
ground  in  Hungary  and  Bohemia, — two  provinces  very  difficuh  to 
rule, — the  Protestant  princes  of  the  empire  became  desirous  of 
securing  and  extending  their  privileges.  Their  demands  were 
refused,  and  they  entered  into  a  new  confederacy,  called  the 
Evangelical  Union.  This  association  was  opposed  by  another, 
called  the  Catholic  League.  The  former  was  supported  by 
Holland,  England,  and  Henry  IV.  of  France.  The  humiliation 
of  Austria  was  the  great  object  of  Henry  in  supporting  the  Prot- 
estant princes  of  Germany,  and  he  assembled  an  army  of  forty 
thousand  men,  which  he  designed  to  head  himself.  But,  just  as 
liis  preparations  were  completed,  he  was  assassinated,  and  his 
death  and  the  dissensions  in  the  Austrian  family  prevented  the 
war  breaking  out  with  the  fury  which  afterwards  characterized  it. 
The  Emperor  Matthias  died  in  1618,  and  was  succeeded  by 
his  cousin  Ferdinand,  Duke  of  Styria,  who  was  an  inveterate 
enemy  to  the  Protestant  cause.  His  first  care  was  to  suppress 
the  insurrection  of  the  Protestants,  which,  just  before  his  accession, 
had  broken  out  in  Bohemia,  under  the  celebrated  Count  Mansfeldt. 
The  Bohemians  renounced  allegiance  to  Ferdinand  II.,  and  chose 
Frederic  V.,  elector  palatine,  for  their  king.  Frederic  unwisely 
accepted  the  crown,  which  confirmed  the  quarrel  between  Ferdi- 
nand and  the  Bohemians.  Frederic  was  seconded  by  all  the 
Protestant  princes,  except  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  by  two  thousand 
four  hundred  English  volunteers,  and  by  eight  thousand  troops 
from  the  United  Provinces.  But  Ferdinand,  assisted  by  the  king 
of  Spain  and  all  the  Catholic  princes,  was  more  than  a  match  for 
Frederic,  who  wasted  his  time  and  strength  in  vain  displays  of 
.sovereignty.  Maximilian,  Duke  of  Bavaria,  commanded  the  forces 
of  the  Catholics,  who,  with  twenty-five  thousand  troops  from  the 
Low  Countries,  invaded  Bohemia.  The  Bohemian  forces  did  not 
amount  to  thirty  thousand,  but  they  intrenched  themselves  neai 
Prague,  where  they  were  attacked  (1620)  and  routed,  with  im- 
mense slaughter.  The  battle  of  Prague  decided  the  fate  oi 
Bohemia,  put  Fiederit»  in  possession  of  all  his  dominions,  and 


CHAP.  X.]  THE    EMPEROR    FREDERIC.  Ill 

invested  him  with  an  authority  equal  to  what  any  of  his  predeces- 
sors had  enjoyed.  All  his  wishes  were  gratified,  and,  had  he 
been  wise,  he  might  have  maintained  his  ascendency  in  Germany, 
But  he  was  blinded  by  his  success,  and,  from  a  rebellion  in  Bohe- 
mia, the  war  extended  through  Germany,  and  afterwards  through- 
out Europe. 

The  emperor  had  regained  his  dominions  by  the  victorious  arms 
of  Maximilian,  Duke  of  Bavaria.  To  compensate  him,  without 
detriment  to  himself,  he  resolved  to  bestow  upon  him  the  domin- 
ions of  the  Count  Palatine  of  the  Rhine,  who  had  injudiciously 
accepted  the  crown  of  Bohemia.  Frederic  must  be  totally  ruined. 
He  was  put  under  the  ban  of  the  empire,  and  his  territories  were 
devastated  by  the  Spanish  general  Spinola,  with  an  army  of 
twenty-five  thousand  men. 

Apparently  there  was  no  hope  for  Frederic,  or  the  Protestant 
cause.  The  only  Protestant  princes  capable  of  arresting  the 
Austrian  encroachments  were  the  Electors  of  Saxony  and  Bran- 
denburg. But  the  former,  John  George,  preferred  the  aggrandize- 
ment of  his  house  to  the  emancipation  of  his  country,  and  tamely 
witnessed  the  victories  of  the  emperor,  without  raising  an  arm  for 
the  relief  of  the  Protestants,  of  whom  he  was  the  acknowledged 
head.  George  William  of  Brandenburg  was  still  more  shamefully 
fettered  by  the  fear  of  Austria,  and  of  losing  his  dominions ;  and 
he,  too,  cautiously  avoided  committing  himself  to  either  party. 

But  while  these  two  great  princes  ingloriously  abandoned  Fred- 
eric to  his  fate,  a  single  soldier  of  fortune,  whose  only  treasure 
was  his  sword,  Ernest  Count  Mansfield,  dared,  in  the  Bohemian 
town  of  Pilsen,  to  defy  the  whole  power  of  Austria.  Undismayed 
by  the  reverses  of  the  elector  palatine,  he  succeeded  in  enlisting 
an  army  of  twenty  thousand  men.  With  such  an  army,  the  cause 
of  Frederic  was  not  irretrievably  lost.  New  prospects  began  to 
open,  and  his  misfortunes  raised  up  unexpected  friends.  James  of 
England  opened  his  treasures,  and  Christian  of  Denmark  offered 
his  powerful  support.  Mansfeldt  was  also  joined  by  the  Margrave 
of  Baden.  The  courage  of  the  count  palatine  revived,  and  he 
labored  assiduously  to  arouse  his  Protestant  brethren.  Meanwhile, 
the  generals  of  the  emperor  were  on  the  alert,  and  the  rising 
hopes  of  Frederic  were  dissipated  by  the  victories  of  Tilly.     The 


112  COUNT   WALLENSTEIN.  [cHAP.  X 

count  palatine  was  again  driven  from  his  hereditary  dominions 
and  sought  refuge  in  Holland. 

But,  though  the  emperor  was  successful,  his  finances  were 
exhausted,  and  he  was  disagreeably  dependent  on  Bavaria.  Un- 
der his  circumstances,  notliing  was  more  welcome  than  the 
proposal  of  Wallenstein,  an  experienced  officer,  and  the  richest 
nobleman  in  Bohemia. 

He  offered,  at  his  own  expense,  and  that  of  his  friends,  to  raise, 
clothe,  and  maintain  an  army  for  the  emperor,  if  he  were  allowed 
to  augment  it  to  fifty  thousand  men.  His  project  was  ridiculed 
as  visionary ;  but  the  offer  was  too  valuable  to  be  rejected.  In  a 
few  months,  he  had  collected  an  army  of  thirty  thousand.  His 
reputation,  the  prospect  of  promotion,  and  the  hope  of  plunder, 
attracted  adventurers  from  all  parts  of  Germany.  Knowing  that 
so  large  a  body  could  not  be  held  together  without  great  resources, 
and  having  none  of  his  own,  he  marched  his  troops  into  the  most 
fertile  territories,  which  had  not  yet  suffered  from  the  war,  where 
they  subsisted  by  contributions  and  plunder,  as  obnoxious  to  their 
friends  as  they  were  to  their  enemies.  Nothing  shows  the  weak- 
ness of  the  imperial  power,  with  all  its  apparent  strength,  and  the 
barbarous  notions  and  customs  of  the  country,  more  than  this  grant 
to  Wallenstein.  And,  with  all  his  heroism  and  success,  he  cannot 
now  be  viewed  in  any  other  light  than  as  a  licensed  robber.  He 
was  virtually  at  the  head  of  a  troop  of  banditti,  who  fought  for  the 
sake  of  plunder,  and  who  would  join  any  side  which  would  present 
the  greatest  hopes  of  gain.  The  genius  of  Schiller,  both  in  his 
dramas  and  histories,  has  immortalized  the  name  of  this  unprinci- 
pled hero,  and  has  excited  a  strange  interest  in  his  person,  his 
family,  and  his  fortunes.  He  is  represented  as  "  born  to  com- 
mand. His  acute  eye  distinguished  at  a  glance,  from  among  the 
multitude,  such  as  were  competent,  and  he  assigned  to  each  his 
proper  place.  His  praise,  from  being  rarely  bestowed,  animated 
and  brought  into  full  operation  every  faculty ;  while  his  steady, 
reserved,  and  earnest  demeanor  secured  obedience  and  discipline. 
His  very  appearance  excited  awe  and  reverence ;  his  figure  was 
proud,  lofty,  and  warlike,  while  his  bright,  piercing  eye  expressed 
profundity  of  thought,  combined  with  gravity  and  mystery.  His 
favorite  study  was  that  of  the  stars,  and  his  most  intimate  friend 


CHAP.  X.]  CHARACTER    OF    WALLENSTEIN.  113 

was  an  Italian  astrologer.  He  had  a  fondness  for  pomp  and 
extravagance.  He  maintained  sixty  pages  ;  his  ante-chamber  was 
guarded  by  fifty  life-guards,  and  his  table  never  consisted  of  less 
than  one  hundred  covers.  Six  barons  and  as  many  knights  were 
in  constant  attendance  on  his  person. .  He  never  smiled,  and  the 
coldness  of  his  temperament  was  proof  "against  sensual  seductions. 
Ever  occupied  with  grand  schemes,  he  despised  those  amuse- 
ments in  which  so  many  waste  their  lives.  Terror  was  the  talis- 
man with  which  he  worked  :  extreme  in  his  punishments  as  in  his 
rewards,  he  knew  how  to  keep  alive  the  zeal  of  his  followers, 
while  no  general  of  ancient  or  modern  times  could  boast  of  being 
obeyed  with  equal  alacrity.  Submission  to  his  will  was  more 
prized  by  him  than  bravery,  and  he  kept  up  the  obedience  of  his 
troops  by  capricious  orders.  He  was  a  man  of  large  stature,  thin, 
of  a  sallow  complexion,  with  short,  red  hair,  and  small,  sparkling 
eyes.  A  gloomy  and  forbidding  seriousness  sat  upon  his  brow,  and 
his  munificent  presents  alone  retained  the  trembling  crowd  of  his 
dependants." 

Such  was  this  enterprising  nobleman,  to  whom  the  emperor  Fer- 
dinand committed  so  great  authority.  And  the  success  of  Wallen- 
stein  apparently  justified  the  course  of  the  emperor.  The  greater 
his  extortions,  and  the  greater  his  rewards,  the  greater  was  the  con- 
course to  his  standard.  Such  is  human  nature.  It  is  said  that,  in 
seven  years,  Wallenstein  exacted  not  less  than  sixty  millions  of 
dollars  from  one  half  of  Germany  —  an  incredible  sum,  when  the 
expenditure  of  the  government  of  England,  at  this  time,  was  less  than 
two  million  pounds  a  year.  His  armies  flourished,  while  the  states 
tlirough  which  they  passed  were  ruined.  What  cared  he  for  the 
curses  of  the  people,  or  the  complaints  of  princes,  so  long  as  his 
army  adored  him  ?  It  was  his  object  to  humble  all  the  princes  of 
the  empire,  and  make  himself  so  necessary  to  the  emperor  that  he 
would  gradually  sink  to  become  his  tool.  He  already  was  created 
Duke  of  Friedland,  and  generalissimo  of  the  imperial  armies. 
Nor  had  his  victorious  career  met  with  any  severe  check,  but 
uninterrupted  success  seemed  to  promise  the  realization  of  his 
vast  ambition.  Germany  lay  bleeding  at  his  feet,  helpless  and 
indignant. 

But  the  greatness  and  the  insolence  of  Wallenstein  raised  up 
10*  I 


114  OUSTAVUS  ADOLPHUS.  [cHAP.  X. 

enemies  against  him  in  all  parts  of  the  empire.  Fear  and  jeal 
ousy  increased  the  opposition,  even  in  the  ranks  of  the  Catholics. 
His  dismissal  was  demanded  by  the  whole  college  of  electors, 
and  even  by  Spain.  Maximilian,  Duke  of  Bavaria,  felt  himself 
echpsed  by  the  successful  general,  and  was  at  the  head  of  the 
cabals  against  him. 

The  emperor  felt,  at  this  crisis,  as  Ganganelli  did  when  com- 
pelled to  disband  the  Jesuits,  that  he  was  parting  with  the  man 
to  whom  he  owed  all  his  supremacy.  Long  was  he  undecided 
whether  or  not  he  would  make  the  sacrifice.  But  all  Germany 
was  clamorous,  and  the  disgrace  of  Wallenstein  was  ordained. 

Would  the  ambitious  chieftain,  at  the  head  of  one  hundred 
thousand  devoted  soldiers,  regard  the  commands  of  the  emperor  ? 
He  made  up  his  mind  to  obey,  looking  to  the  future  for  revenge, 
and  feeling  that  he  could  afford  to  wait  for  it.  Seni  had  read  in 
the  stars  that  glorious  prospects  still  awaited  him.  Wallenstein 
retired  to  his  estates  in  Bohemia,  but  maintained  the  pomp  and 
splendor  of  a  prince  of  the  empire. 

Scarcely  had  he  retired  from  the  command  of  the  army  before 
his  services  were  again  demanded.  One  hero  produces  another. 
A  Wellington  is  ever  found  to  oppose  a  Napoleon.  Providence 
raised  up  a  friend  to  Germany,  in  its  distress,  in  the  person 
of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  King  of  Sweden.  It  was  not  for  per- 
sonal aggrandizement  that  he  lent  his  powerful  arm  to  the 
Protestant  princes,  who,  thus  far,  had  vainly  struggled  against 
Maximilian,  Tilly,  and  Wallenstein.  Zeal  for  Protestantism, 
added  to  strong  provocations,  induced  him  to  land  in  Germany 
with  fifteen  thousand  men  —  a  small  body  to  oppose  the  victorious 
troops  of  the  emperor,  but  they  were  brave  and  highly  disciplined, 
and  devoted  to  their  royal  master.  He  himself  was  indisputably 
the  greatest  general  of  the  age,  and  had  the  full  confidence  of 
the  Protestant  princes,  who  were  ready  to  rally  the  moment  he 
obtained  any  signal  advantage.  Henceforth,  Gustavus  Adolphus 
was  the  hero  of  the  war.  He  was  more  than  a  hero ;  he  was  a 
Christian,  regardful  of  the  morals  of  his  soldiers,  and  devoted  to 
the  interests  of  spiritual  religion.  He  was  frugal,  yet  generous , 
serene  in  the  greatest  danger;  and  magnanimous  beyond  all 
precedent  in  the  history  of  kings.     On  the  20th  of  May,  1630, 


CHAP.  X.]  LOSS  OF  MAGDEBURG.  115 

taking  his  daughter  Christiana  in  his  arms,  then  only  four  years  of 
age,  he  presented  her  to  the  states  as  their  future  sovereign,  and 
made  his  farewell  address.  "  Not  lightly,  not  wantonly,"  said  he, 
"  am  I  about  to  involve  myself  and  you  in  this  new  and  dangerous 
war.  God  is  my  witness  that  I  do  not  fight  to  gratify  my  own 
ambition;  but  the  emperor  has  wronged  me,  has  supported  my 
enemies,  persecuted  my  friends,  trampled  my  religion  in  the  dust, 
and  even  stretched  forth  his  revengeful  arm  against  my  crown. 
The  oppressed  states  of  Germany  call  loudly  for  aid,  which,  by 
God's  help,  we  will  give  them. 

"  I  am  fully  sensible  of  the  dangers  to  which  my  life  will  be 
exposed.  I  have  never  yet  shrunk  from  them,  nor  is  it  likely  that 
I  shall  always  escape  them.  Hitherto,  Providence  has  protected 
me ;  but  I  shall  at  last  fall  in  defence  of  my  countiy  and  my  faith. 
I  commend  you  to  the  protection  of  Heaven.  Be  just,  conscien- 
tious, and  upright,  and  we  shall  meet  again  in  eternity.  For  the 
prosperity  of  all  my  subjects,  I  offer  my  warmest  prayer  to 
Heaven ;  and  bid  you  all  a  sincere  —  it  may  be  an  eternal  — 
farewell." 

He  had  scarcely  landed  in  Germany  before  his  victorious  career 
began.  France  concluded  a  treaty  with  him,  and  he  advanced 
against  Tilly,  who  now  headed  the  imperial  armies. 

The  tardiness  of  the  Electors  of  Saxony  and  Brandenburg  in 
rendering  assistance  caused  the  loss  of  Magdeburg,  the  most 
important  fortress  of  the  Protestants.  It  was  taken  by  assault, 
even  while  Gustavus  was  advancing  to  its  relief.  No  pen  can 
paint,  and  no  imagination  can  conceive,  the  horrors  which  were 
perpetrated  by  the  imperial  soldiers  in  the  sack  of  that  unfortunate 
place.  Neither  childhood  nor  helpless  age  —  neither  youth,  beauty, 
sex,  nor  rank  could  disarm  the  fury  of  the  conquerors.  No  situa- 
tion or  retreat  was  sacred.  In  a  single  church  fifty-three  women 
were  beheaded.  The  Croats  amused  themselves  with  throwing 
children  into  the  flames.  Pappenheim's  Walloons  stabbed  infants 
at  the  breast.  The  city  was  reduced  to  ashes,  and  thirty  thousand 
of  the  inhabitants  were  slain. 

But  the  loss  of  this  important  city  was  soon  compensated  by  the 
battle  of  Leipsic,  1630,  which  the  King  of  Sweden  gained  over 
the  imperial  forces,  and  in  which  the  Elector  of  Saxony  at  last 


116  WALLENSTEIN    REINSTATED   IN    POWER.  [cHAP.  X. 

remiered  valuable  aid.  The  rout  of  Tilly,  hitherto  victorious,  wa« 
complete,  and  he  himself  escaped  only  by  chance.  Saxony  was 
freed  from  the  enemy,  while  Bohemia,  Moravia,  Austria,  and 
Hungary,  were  stripped  of  their  defenders.  Ferdinand  was  no 
longer  secure  in  his  capital ;  the  freedom  of  Germany  was  secured. 
Gustavus  was  every  where  hailed  as  a  deliverer,  and  admiration 
for  his  genius  was  only  equalled  by  the  admiration  of  his  virtues. 
He  rapidly  regained  all  that  the  Protestants  had  lost,  and  the  fruits 
of  twelve  years  of  war  were  snatched  away  from  the  emperor. 
Tilly  was  soon  after  killed,  and  all  things  indicated  the  complete 
triumph  of  the  Protestants. 

It  was  now  the  turn  of  Ferdincmd  to  tremble.  The  only  person 
who  could  save  him  was  dismissed  and  disgraced.  Tilly  was 
dead.  Munich  and  Prague  were  in  the  hands  of  the  Protestants, 
while  the  king  of  Sweden  traversed  Germany  as  a  conqueror,  law- 
giver, and  judge.  No  fortress  was  inaccessible ;  no  river  checked 
liis  victorious  career.  The  Swedish  standards  were  planted  in  Ba- 
varia, Bohemia,  the  Palatinate,  Saxony,  and  along  the  banks  of 
the  Rhine.  Meanwhile  the  Turks  were  preparing  to  attack 
Hungary,  and  a  dangerous  insurrection  threatened  his  own  capital. 
None  came  to  his  assistance  in  the  hour  of  peril  On  all  sides, 
he  was  surrounded  by  hostile  armies,  while  his  own  forces  were 
dispirited  and  treacherous. 

From  such  a  hopeless  state  he  was  rescued  by  the  man  whom 
he  had  injured,  but  not  until  he  had  himself  to  beg  his  assistance. 
Wallenstein  was  in  retirement,  and  secretly  rejoiced  in  the  victories 
of  the  Swedish  king,  knowing  full  well  that  the  emperor  would 
soon  be  compelled  to  summon  him  again  to  command  his  armies. 
Now  he  could  dictate  his  terms.  Now  he  could  humiliate  his 
sovereign,  and  at  the  same  time  obtain  all  the  power  his  ambition 
craved.  He  declined  entering  his  service  unless  he  had  the  un- 
limited command  of  all  the  armies  of  Austria  and  Spain.  No 
commission  in  the  army  was  to  be  granted  by  the  emperor,  without 
his  own  approval.  He  demanded  the  ordinary  pay,  and  an  impe- 
rial hereditary  estate.  In  short,  he  demanded  sovereign  authority ; 
and  with  such  humiliating  terms  the  emperor,  in  his  necessities, 
was  obliged  to  comply. 

No  sooner  did  he  raise  his  standard,  than  it  was  resorted  to  by 


CHAP.  X.]  HBATB  OF  GUSTATWS  AOOLFHITS.  117 

llie  anpiiiicqded,  the  lapaidoas,  and  flie  needj  haok  all  parts  of 
tfie  empiie.  Bat  WaDensteiii  now  lesdhred  to  pmsae,  exdoshrefy, 
h^  own  selfi^  inleiests,  and  directed  all  his  aims  to  independent 
sovereignty.  When  hts  forces  were  nniled  widi  those  of  Maxi- 
milian, he  found  himsdf  at  the  hea^of  sixiy  Ihnnaand  men. 
Then  realty  ctMnmeoced  the  se^ent}r<^fKecc»test,finrWal]«istein 
was  now  stranger  than  GuslaTiis.  Merertheless,  tibe  heroic  Swede 
o^red  to  give  his  iival  faatlfe  at  Narembmg,  minch  was  declined. 
He  iSm^  attacked  Ins  canq»,  hot  was  lepnlsed  widi  kas.  At  last, 
the  two  geneiak  met  <m  die  plains  oi  Lotzirai,  in  Saximj,  1632. 
During  the  idide  coarse  c^  the  war,  two  sodi  geneials  had  not 
beoi  pitted  a^inst  ea<^  other,  nor  had  so  modi  been  staked  on 
the  chance  of  a  battle.  l^dxHy  dedaied  for  die  troofs  of  Gke- 
tavos,  hot  the  h»<»c  leader  bimself  was  IdDed,  in  die  fidness  €€ 
his  g^osy.  It  was  his  fiHtime  to  die  with  an  untarnished  feme. 
*^  By  an  untimely  death,^  says  SchiDer,  ""  his  protecting  geamiis> 
rescued  him  £rom  the  inevitaUe  &te  of  man — diat  ni  focgeltii^ 
moderatiaa  in  die  intoodcatian  of  soooeas,  and  jostice  in  die  ^eni- 
tode  ot  power.  It  may  be  doobted  wliedier,  had  he  lived  longer, 
he  would  stiQ  have  deserved  the  tears  whidi  GSermany  ^led  over 
his  grave,  or  maintained  bis  title  to  the  admiratian  with  wlucli  pos- 
terity regards  liini,-^as  die  first  and  onty  just  oonqnerar  diat  the 
worid  bos  produced.  But  it  was  no  kx^er  die  bene&dor  of  Ger- 
many who  ^1  at  Lotzen;  die  benefio^it  part  of  bis  career  Gus- 
tBTus  Adolpfaus  bad  afaeadty  tenmnated;  and  now  die  greatest 
sensioe  which  he  oouU  render  to  die  liberties  of  Gennai^  was — 
to  die.  TheaDrei^roaBingpoweraf  an  individual  was  at  an  end; 
die  eqmvDcal  asHmianre  of  an  otver-poweifal  iHOtedar  gave  piace 
to  a  more  noble  self-exertian  on  the  pait  of  the  estates ;  and  dMse 
who  formeity  were  die  mere  instruments  of  his  aggrandJTiRmrait, 
began  to  WDik  for  diemaelves.  The  ambilian  of  die  Swedidi 
aapored,  unqupstinnabiy,  to  eBJabBgdi  a  power  within  Ger* 
mainr  inconsistent  with  the  fiberties  of  the  eatatesL  Hkaimwas 
the  in^perial  crown;  and  dus  dignity,  aaippoited  by  bis  powa, 
would  be  liaUe  to  more  abise  dwn  had  ever  been  feared  firom  die 
house  of  Austria.  His  sudden  dBs^peaianoe  secured  die  libeities 
of  Germany,  and  saved  bis  own  leputatun,  wbihs  it  probably 
spared  bin  die  mortification  of  seeing  bis  own  allies  in  anns 


118  ASSASSINATION    OF    WALLENSTEIN.  [CHAP.  X. 

against  him,  and  all  the  fruits  of  his  victories  torn  from  him  by  a 
disadvantageous  peace." 

After  the  battle  of  Lutzen  we  almost  lose  sight  of  Wallenstein ; 
and  no  victories  were  commensurate  with  his  reputation  and  abili- 
ties. He  continued  inactive  in  Bohemia,  while  all  Europe  was 
awaiting  the  exploits  which  should  efface  the  remembrance  of  his 
defeat.  He  exhausted  the  imperial  provinces  by  enormous  contri- 
butions, and  his  whole  conduct  seems  singular  and  treacherous. 
His  enemies  at  the  imperial  court  now  renewed  their  intrigues, 
and  his  conduct  was  reviewed  with  the  most  malicious  criticism. 
But  he  possessed  too  great  power  to  be  openly  assailed  by  the  em- 
peror, and  measures  were  concerted  to  remove  him  by  treachery. 
Wallenstein  obtained  notice  of  the  designs  against  him,  and  now, 
too  late,  resolved  on  an  open  revolt.  But  he  was  betrayed,  and 
his  own  generals,  on  whom  he  counted,  deserted  him,  so  soon  as 
the  emperor  dared  to  deprive  him  of  his  command.  But  he  was 
only  removed  by  assassination,  and  just  at  the  moment  when  he 
deemed  himself  secure  against  the  whole  power  of  the  emperor. 
No  man,  however  great,  can  stand  before  an  authority  which  is 
universally  deemed  legitimate,  however  reduced  and  weakened 
that  authority  may  be.  In  times  of  anarchy  and  revolution,  there 
is  confusion  in  men's  minds  respecting  the  persons  in  whom  legiti- 
mate authority  should  be  lodged,  and  this  is  the  only  reason  why 
rebellion  is  ever  successful. 

The  death  of  Wallenstein,  in  1634,  did  not  terminate  the  war. 
It  raged  eleven  years  longer,  with  various  success,  and  involved  the 
other  European  powers.  France  was  then  governed  by  Cardinal 
Richelieu,  who,  notwithstanding  his  Catholicism,  lent  assistance  to 
the  Protestants,  with  a  view  of  reducing  the  power  of  Austria. 
Indeed,  the  war  had  destroyed  the  sentiments  which  produced  it, 
and  political  motives  became  stronger  than  religious.  Oxenstiern 
and  Richelieu  became  the  master  spirits  of  the  contest,  and,  in  the 
recesses  of  their  cabinets,  regulated  the  campaigns  of  their  gen- 
erals. Battles  were  lost  and  won  on  both  sides,  and  innumerable 
intrigues  were  plotted  by  interested  statesmen.  After  all  par- 
ties had  exhausted  their  resources,  and  Germany  was  deluged 
with  the  blood  of  Spaniards,  Hollanders,  Frenchmen,  Swedes, 
besides  that  of  her  own  sons,  the  peace  of  Westphalia  was  con- 


c^AP.  X.J  TREATY    OF   WESTPHALIA.  119 

eluded,  (1648,)  —  the  most  important  treaty  in  the  history  of  Eu- 
rope. All  the  princes  and  states  of  the  empire  were  reestablished 
in  the  lands,  rights,  and  prerogatives  which  they  enjoyed  before 
the  troubles  in  Bohemia,  in  1619.  The  religious  liberties  of  the 
Lutherans  and  Calvinists  were  guaranteed,  and  it  was  stipulated 
that  the  Imperial  Chamber  should  consist  of  twenty-four  Protestant 
members  and  twenty-six  Catholic,  and  that  the  emperor  should 
receive  six  Protestants  into  the  Aulic  Council,  the  highest  judicial 
tribunal  in  the  empire.  This  peace  is  the  foundation  of  the  whole 
system  of  modern  European  politics,  of  all  modern  treaties,  of 
that  which  is  called  the  freedom  of  Germany,  and  of  a  sort  of 
balance  of  power  among  all  the  countries  of  Western  Europe. 
Dearly  was  it  purchased,  by  the  perfect  exhaustion  of  national 
energies,  and  the  demoralizing  sentiments  which  one  of  the  longest 
and  bloodiest  wars  in  human  history  inevitably  introduced. 


References.  —  Schiller's  History  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  Russell's 
Modern  Europe.  Coleridge's  Translation  of  "WaUenstein.  KohlrauscL's 
History  of  Germany.  See  also  a  history  of  Germany  in  Dr.  Lardner's 
Cyclopedia.  History  of  Sweden.  Plank  on  the  Political  Consequences 
of  the  Reformation.  The  History  of  Schiller,  however  is  a  classic,  and  is 
exceedingly  interesting  and  beautiful. 


120  REGENCY   OF   MARY   D£   MEDICIS.  [cHAP.  XL 

CHAPTER     XI. 

ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  CARDINALS  RICHELIEU  AND  MAZARIN. 

•  While  Germany  was  rent  with  civil  commotions,  and  the  power 
of  the  emperors  was  limited  by  the  stand  taken  against  it  by  the 
Protestant  princes,  France  was  ruled  with  an  iron  hand,  and  a  foun- 
dation was  laid  for  the  despotism  of  Louis  XIV.     The  energetic 
genius  of  Cardinal  Richelieu,  during  the  whole  period  of  the  thirty 
years'  war,  affected  the  councils  of  all  the  different  courts  of  Eu- 
rope.    He  was  mdisputably  the  greatest  statesman  of  his  age  and. 
nation.     To  him  France  is  chiefly  indebted  for  the  ascendency 
she  enjoyed  in  the  seventeenth  century.     Had  Henry  IV.  lived  to 
Ae  age  of  Louis  XIV.,  France  would  probably  have  been  perma- 
nently greater,  although  the  power  of  the  king  might  not  have 
been  so  absolute. 
/      When  Henry  IV.  died,  he  left  his  kingdom  to  his  son  Louis 
/  Xin.,  a  child  nine  years  of  age.     The  first  thing  to  be  done  was 
I    the  appomtment  of  a  regent.     The  Parliament  of  Paris,  in  whom 
I    this  right  seems  to  have  been  vested,  nominated  the  queen  mother, 
Mary  de  Medicis,  and  the  young  king,  in  a  bed  of  justice, — 
the  greatest  of  the  royal  prerogatives,  —  confirmed  his  mother 
in  the  regency.     Her  regency  was  any  thing  but  favorable  to  the 
)  interests  of  the  kingdom.  [  The  policy  of  the  late  king  was  disre 
garded,  and  a  new  course  of  measures  was  adopted.      Sully, 
through  whose  counsels  the  reign  of  Henry  IV.  had  been  so  benefi- 
cent, was  dismissed.     The  queen  regent  had  no  sympathy  with 
his  views.     Neither  the  corrupt  court  nor  the  powerful  aristocracy 
cared  any  thing  for  the  interests  of  the  people,  for  the  improve- 
ment of  agriculture,  commerce,  and  manufactures,  for  the  regu- 
lation of  the  finances,  or  for  increasing  the  productive  industry  of 
the  country,  on  which  its  material  prosperity  ever  depends.     T^e 
greedy  courtiers  obtained  from  a  lavish  queen  the  treasures  which 
the  wise  care  of  Henry  had  amassed,  and  which  he  thoughtlessly 
bestowed  in  order  to  secure  their  fidelity.    The  foreign  policy  also 


CHAP.  XI.]  RISE    OF   CARDINAL    DE    RICHELIEU.  121 

was  changed,  and  a  strong  alliance  was  made  with  the  pope,  with 
Spain,  and  with  the  Jesuits. 

On  the  retirement  of  the  able  and  incorruptible  Sully,  favorites 
of  no  talent  or  worth  arose  to  power.  Concini,  an  Italian,  con- 
trolled the  queen  regent,  and  through  him  all  her  favors  flowed. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Luynes,  a  mere-  falconer,  who  made  him- 
self agreeable  to  the  young  king,  and  usurped  the  power  of  Con- 
cini, when  the  king  attained  his  majority.  He  became  constable 
of  France,  the  highest  officer  in  the  realm,  and  surpassed  all  the 
old  nobility  in  arrogance  and  cupidity.  His  mismanagement  and 
selfishness  led  to  an  insurrection  of  some  of  the  great  nobles, 
among  whom  were  Conde  and  D'Epernon. 

While  the  kingdom  was  thus  convulsed  with  civil  war,  and  in 
every  way  mismanaged,  Richelieu,  Bishop  of  Lu9on,  appeared 
upon  the  stage.  He  was  a  man  of  high  birth,  was  made  doctor 
of  the  Sorbonne  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  and,  before  he  was 
twenty-five,  a  bishop.  During  the  ascendency  of  Mancini,  he 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  queen,  and  was  selected  as  secretary 
of  state.  Soon  after  the  death  of  Luynes,  he  obtained  a  cardi- 
nal's hat,  and  a  seat  in  the  council.  The  moment  he  spoke,  his 
genius  predominated,  and  the  monarch,  with  all  his  pride,  bowed 
to  the  ascendency  of  intellect,  and  yielded,  with  a  good  grace,  to 
a  man  whom  it  was  impolitic  to  resist. 

From  that  moment,  in  1622,  the  reins  of  empire  were  in  the 
hands  of  a  master,  and  the  king  himself,  were  it  not  for  the  splen- 
dor of  his  court,  would  have  disappeared  from  the  eye,  both  of 
statesmen  and  historians*  The  reign  of  anarcjiy,  for  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  at  least,  was  over,  and  the  way  was  prepared  for  the 
aggrandizement  of  the  French  monarchy.  When  Richelieu  came 
into  power,  universal  disorder  prevailed.  The  finances  were 
deranged,  the  Huguenots  were  troublesome,  and  the  nobles  were 
rebellious.  Such  was  the  internal  state  of  France,  —  weakened, 
distracted,  and  anarchical.  She  had  lost  her  position  among  the 
great  powers,  and  Austria  threatened  to  overturn  the  political  rela- 
tions of  all  the  states  of  Europe.  Austria,  in  the  early  part  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  was,  unquestionably,  the  leading  power 
in  Christendom,  and  her  ascendency  boded  no  good  to  the  liberties 
which  men  were  beginning  to  assert. 
11 


122  SUPPLESSION    OF   THE   HUGUENOTS.  [cHAP.  XI. 

JTbrcc  great  objects  animated  the  genius  of  Richelieu,  and  in 
the  attainment  of  these  he  was  successful.  These  were,  tlie  sup- 
pression of  the  Huguenots,  as  a  powerful  party,  the  humiliation 
of  the  great  barons,  and  the  reduction  of  the  power  of  Austria. 
For  these  objects  he  perseveringly  contended  for  twenty  years ; 
iuid  his  struggles  and  intrigues  to  secure  these  ends  constitute  the 
history  of  France  during  the  reign  of  Louis  XIII.  And  they 
iiffected  not  only  France,  but  the  whole  continent.  His  policy 
was  to  preserve  peace  with  Enprland  and  Spain,  —  the  hereditary 
enemies  of  France,  —  with  Sweden,  and  with  ttie  Protestants  of 
Germany,  even  while  he  suppressed  their  religion  within  his  own 
i-ealm.  It  was  the  true  policy  of  England  to  prevent  the  ruin  of 
the  Huguenots  in  France,  as  before  she  had  aided  the  Protestants 
in  Holland.  But,  unfortunately,  England  was  then  ruled  by  James 
and  Charles,  and  they  were  controlled  by  profligate  ministers,  who 
were  the  tools  of  the  crafty  cardinal.  A  feeble  assistance  was 
rendered  by  James,  but  it  availed  nothing. 

In  order  to  annihilate  the  political  power  of  the  Huguenots,  —  foi 
Richelieu  cared  more  for  this  than  for  their  religious  opinions,  —  ' 
it  was  necessary  that  he  should  possess  himself  of  the  city  of  La  Rc- 
chelle,  on  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  a  strong  fortress,  which  had  resisted, 
during  the  reign  of  Charles  IX.,  the  whole  power  of  the  Catholics, 
and  which  continued  to  be  the  stronghold  of  the  Huguenots.  Here 
they  could  always  retire  and  be  safe,  in  times  of  danger.  It  was 
strongly  fortified  by  sea,  as  well  as  by  land ;  and  only  a  vigorous 
blockade  could  exclude  provisions  and  military  stores  from  the 
people.  But  England  was  mistress  of  the  ocean,  and  supplies 
from  her  would  always  relieve  the  besieged. 

After  ineffectual  but  vigorous  attempts  to  take  the  city  by  land, 
Richelieu  determined  to  shut  up  its  harbor,  first  by  stakes,  and 
then  by  a  boom.  Both  of  these  measures  failed.  But  the  mili- 
tary genius  of  the  cardinal  was  equal  to  his  talents  as  a  statesman. 
He  remembered  what  Alexander  did  at  the  siege  of  Tyre.  So, 
with  a  volume  of  Quintus  Curtius  in  his  hand,  he  projected  and 
finished  a  mole,  half  a  mile  in  length,  across  a  gulf,  into  which 
the  tide  flowed.  In  some  places,  it  was  eight  hundred  and  forty 
feet  below  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  sixty  feet  in  breadth.  A 
first,  the  besieged  laughed  at  an  attempt  so  gigantic  and  difficult. 


CHAP.  XI.]   THE  DEPRESSION  OF  THE  GREAT  NOBLES.         123 

But  the  work  steadily  progressed,  and  the  city  was  finally  cut  off 
from  communication  with  the  sea.  The  besieged,  wasted  by 
famine,  surrendered ;  the  fortifications  were  destroyed,  the  town 
lost  its  independence,  and  the  power  of  the  Huguenots  was  broken 
forever.  But  no  vengeance  was  taken  on  the  heroic  citizens,  and 
they  were  even  permitted  to  enjoy  their  religion.  Fifteen  thou- 
sand, however,  perished  at  this  memorable  siege. 

The  next  object  of  Richelieu  was  the  humiliation  of  Austria. 
But  the  detail  of  his  military  operations  would  be  complicated  and 
tedious,  since  no  grand  and  decisive  battles  were  fought  by  his 
generals,  and  no  able  commanders  appeared.  Turenne  and  Conde 
belonged  to  the  next  age.^  The  military  operations  consisted  in 
frontier  skirmishes,  idle  sieges,  and  fitful  expeditions,  in  which, 
however,  the  cardinal  had  the  advantage,  and  by  which  he  gained, 
since  he  could  better  afford  to  pay  for  them.  War  is  always  ruin- 
ously expensive,  and  that  party  generally  is  successful  which  can 
the  longer  furnish  resources.  It  is  a  proof  that  religious  bigotry 
did  not  mainly  influence  him,  since  he  supported  the  Protestant 
party.  All  motives  of  a  religious  kind  were  absorbed  in  his  pre- 
vailing passion  to  aggrandize  the  French  monarchy.  Had  it  not 
been  for  the  intrigues  and  forces  of  Richelieu,  the  peace  of  West- 
phaHa  might  not  have  been  secured,  and  Austria  might  again  have 
overturned  the  "  Balance  of  Power." 

The  third  great  aim  of  the  minister,  and  the  one  which  he  most 
systematically  pursued  to  the  close  of  his  life,  was  the  depression 
of  the  nobles,  whose  power  was  dangerously  exercised.  They  had 
almost  feudal  privileges,  were  enormously  wealthy,  numerous, 
corrupt,  and  dissolute.  His  efforts  to  suppress  their  power  raised 
up  numerous  conspiracies. 

Among  the  earliest  was  one  supported  by  the  queen  mother  and 
Gaston,  Duke  of  Orleans,  brother  to  the  king,  and  presumptive  heir 
to  the  throne.  Connected  with  this  conspiracy  were  the  Dukes  of 
Bourbon  and  Vendome,  the  Prince  de  Chalais,  and  several  others  of 
the  highest  rank.  It  was  intended  to  assassinate  the  cardinal  and 
seize  the  reins  of  government.  But  he  got  timely  notice  of  the 
plot,  informed  the  king,  and  guarded  himself.  The  conspira- 
tors were  too  formidable  to  be  punished  in  a  body ;  so  he  dissem- 
bled, and  resolved  to  cut  them  off  in  detail.     He  moreover  threat- 


124  SUPPRESSION    OF    GREAT    NOBLES.  [cHAP.  XI. 

ened  the  king  with  resignation,  and  frightened  him  by  predicting  a 
civil  war.  In  consequence,  the  king  gave  orders  to  arrest  his 
brothers,  the  Dukes  of  Bourbon  and  Vendome,  while  the  Prince  of 
Chalais  was  executed.  The  Duke  of  Orleans,  on  the  confession 
of  Chalais,  fled  from  the  kingdom.  The  queen  mother  was 
arrested,  Bassompierre  was  imprisoned  in  the  Bastile,  and  the  Duke 
of  Guise  sent  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome.  The  powerful  D'Eper- 
non  sued  for  pardon. 

Still  Richelieu  was  not  satisfied.  He  resolved  to  humble  the 
parliament,  because  it  had  opposed  an  ordinance  of  the  king  de- 
claring the  partisans  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans  guilty  of  treason.  It 
had  rightly  argued  that  such  a  condemnation  could  not  be  issued 
without  a  trial.  "  But,"  said  the  artful  minister  to  the  weak-minded 
king,  "  to  refuse  to  verify  a  declaration  which  you  yourself  an- 
nounced to  the  members  of  parliament,  is  to  doubt  your  authority." 
An  extraordinary  council  was  convened,  and  the  parliament,  which 
was  simply  a  court  of  judges,  was  summoned  to  the  royal  presence. 
They  went  in  solemn  procession,  carrying  with  them  the  record 
which  showed  their  refusal  to  register  the  edict.  The  king  received 
them  with  stately  pomp.  They  were  required  to  kneel  in  his 
presence,  and  their  decree  was  taken  from  the  record  and  torn  in 
pieces  before  their  eyes,  and  the  leading  members  were  suspended 
and  banished. 

The  Court  of  Aids,  by  whom  the  money  edicts  were  registered, 
also  showed  opposition.  The  members  left  the  court  when  the 
next  edict  was  to  be  registered.  But  they  were  suspended,  until 
they  humbly  came  to  terms. 

"  All  the  malcontents,  the  queen,  the  prince,  the  nobles,  the  par- 
liament, and  the  Court  of  Aids  hoped  for  the  support  of  the  people, 
and  all  were  disappointed."  And  this  is  the  reason  why  they  failed 
and  Richelieu  triumphed.  There  never  have  been,  among  the 
French,  disinterestedness  and  union  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  which 
never  can  be  gained  without  perseverance  and  self-sacrifice. 

The  next  usurpation  of  Richelieu  was  the  erection  of  a  new 
tribunal  for  trying  state  criminals,  in  which  no  record  of  its  pro- 
ceedings should  be  preserved,  and  the  members  of  which  should 
be  selected  by  himself.  This  court  was  worse  than  that  of  the 
Star  Chamber. 


CHAP.  XI.]  POWER    OF   RICHELIEU.  "  125 

Richelieu  showed  a  still  more  culpable  disregard  of  the  forms 
of  justice  in  the  trial  of  Marshal  Marrillac,  charged  with  crimes  in 
the  conduct  of  the  army.  He  was  brought  before  a  commission, 
and  not  before  his  peers,  condemned,  and  executed. 

In  view  of  this  judicial  murder,  the  nobles,  generally,  were 
filled  with  indignation  and  alarm.  They  now  saw  that  the  minister 
aimed  at  the  complete  humiliation  of  their  order,  and  therefore 
made  another  effort  to  resist  the  cardinal.  At  the  head  of  this 
conspiracy  was  the  Duke  of  Montmorency,  admiral  and  constable 
of  France,  one  of  the  most  powerful  nobles  in  the  kingdom.  He 
was  governor  of  Provence,  and  deeply  resented  the  insult  offered 
to  his  rank  in  the  condemnation  of  Marrillac.  He  moreover  felt 
indignant  that  the  king's  brother  should  be  driven  into  exile  by  the 
hostility  of  a  priest.  He  therefore  joined  his  forces  with  those  of 
the  Duke  of  Orleans,  was  defeated,  tried,  and  executed  for  rebel- 
lion, against  the  entreaty  and  intercession  of  the  most  powerful 
families. 

The  cardinal  minister  was  now  triumphant  over  all  his  enemies. 
He  had  destroyed  the  political  power  of  the  Huguenots,  extended 
the  boundary  of  France,  and  decimated  the  nobles.  He  now 
turned  his  attention  to  the  internal  administration  of  the  kingdom. 
He  created  a  national  navy,  protected  commerce  and  industry, 
rewarded  genius,  and  formed  the  French  Academy.  He  attained 
a  greater  pitch  of  greatness  than  any  subject  ever  before  or  since 
enjoyed  in  his  country,  greater  even  than  was  possessed  by  Wol- 
sey.  Wolsey,  powerful  as  he  was,  lived,  like  a  Turkish  vizier,  in 
constant  fear  of  his  capricious  master.  But  Richelieu  controlled 
the  king  himself.  Louis  Xlll.  feared  Inm,  and  felt  that  he  could 
not  reign  without  him.  He  did  not  love  the  cardinal,  and  was 
often  tempted  to  dismiss  him,  but  could  never  summon  sufficient 
resolution.  Richelieu  was  more  powerful  than  the  queen  mother, 
the  brothers  of  the  king,  the  royal  mistresses,  or  even  all  united, 
since  he  obtained  an  ascendency  ovei  all,  doomed  the  queen 
mother  to  languish  in  exile  at  Cologne,  and  compelled  the  duke 
of  Orleans  to  succumb  to  him.  He  was  chief  of  three  of  the 
principal  monastic  orders,  and  possessed  enormous  wealth.  He 
erected  a  palace  as  grand  as  Hampton  Court,  and  appeared  in 
public  with  great  pomp  and  ceremony. 
11* 


126  CHARACTEB   OF    RICHELIEU.  [CHAP.  XI. 

But  an  end  came  to  his  greatness.  In  1642,  a  mortal  malady 
wasted  him  away ;  he  summoned  to  his  death  bed  his  royal  master ; 
recommended  Mazarin  as  his  successor ;  and  died  like  a  man  who 
knew  no  remorse,  in  the  fifty-eighth  year  of  his  age,  and  the 
eighteenth  of  his  reign  as  minister.  He  was  eloquent,  but  his 
words  served  only  to  disguise  his  sentiments ;  he  was  direct  and 
frank  in  his  speech,  and  yet  a  perfect  master  of  the  art  of  dissimu- 
lation ;  he  could  not  be  imposed  upon,  and  yet  was  passionately 
fond  of  flattery,  which  he  liked  in  such  large  doses  that  it  seemed 
hyperbolical;  he  was  not  learned,  yet  appreciated  learning  in 
others,  and  magnificently  rewarded  it ;  he  was  fond  of  pleasure, 
and  easily  fascinated  by  women,  and  yet  was  cold,  politic,  impla- 
cable, and  cruel.  But  he  was  a  great  statesman,  and  aimed  to 
suppress  anarchy  and  preserve  law.  In  view  of  his  labors  to 
preserve  order,  we  may  almost  excuse  his  severity.  "  Placed," 
says  Montresor,  as  quoted  by  Miss  Pardee,  "  at  an  equal  distance 
between  Louis  IX.,  whose  aim  weis  to  abolish  feudality,  and  the 
national  convention,  whose  attempt  was  to  crush  aristocracy,  he 
appeared,  like  them,  to  have  received  a  mission  of  blood  from 
heaven.  The  high  nobility,  repulsed  under  Louis  XL  and  Fran- 
cis I.,  almost  entirely  succumbed  under  Richelieu,  preparing,  by  its 
overthrow,  the  calm,  unitarian,  and  despotic  reign  of  Louis  XIV., 
who  looked  around  him  in  vain  for  a  great  noble,  and  found  only 
courtiers.  The  gjreat  rebellion,  which,  for  nearly  two  centuries, 
agitated  France,  almost  entirely  disappeared  under  the  ministrj^ 
of  the  cardinal.  The  Guises,  who  had  touched, with  their  hand 
the  sceptre  of  Henry  III.,  the  Condes,  who  had  placed  their  foot 
on  the  steps  of  the  throne  of  Henry  IV.,  and  Gaston,  who  had 
tried  upon  his  brow  the  crown  of  Louis  XIII. ,  —  all  returned,  at 
the  voice  of  the  minister,  if  not  into  nothingness,  at  least  into 
impotency.  All  who  struggled  against  the  iron  will,  enclosed  in 
that  feeble  body,  were  broken  like  glass.  And  all  the  struggle 
which  Richelieu  sustained,  he  did  not  sustain  for  his  own  sake,  but 
for  that  of  France.  All  the  enemies,  against  whom  he  contended, 
were  not  his  enemies  merely,  but  those  of  the  kingdom.  If  he 
clung  tenaciously  by  the  side  of  a  king,  whom  he  compelled  to  live 
a  melancholy,  unhappy,  and  isolated  life,  whom  he  deprived  suc- 
cessively of  his  frends,  of  his  mistresses,  and  of  his  family,  as  a 


CHAP    XI.]  EFFECTS    OF    RICHELIEU's    POLICY.  127 

tree  is  stripped  of  its  leaves,  of  its  branches,  and  of  its  bark,  it 
was  because  friends,  mistresses,  and  family  exhausted  the  sap  of 
the  expiring  royalty,  which  had  need  of  all  its  egotism  to  prevent  it 
from  perishing.  For  it  was  not  intestinal  struggles  merely,  —  there 
was  also  foreign  war,  which  had  connected  itself  fatally  with  them. 
All  those  great  nobles  whom  he  decimated,  all  those  princes  of 
the  blood  whom  he  exiled,  were  inviting  foreigners  to  France  ; 
and  these  foreigners,  answering  eagerly  to  the  summons,  were 
entering  the  country  on  three  different  sides,  —  the  English  by 
Guienne,  the  Spaniards  by  Roussillon,  and  the  Austrians  by  Artois. 
{%'  " He  repulsed  the  English  by  driving  them  to  the  Isle  of  Re,  and 
,  by  besieging  La  Rochelle ;  the  Spaniards,  by  creating  beside  them 
i^  the  new  kingdom  of  Portugal ;  anH  tFe"iirSperialists,  by  detaching 
?W"  BavaLria^onrits  "alliance,  by  suspending  their  treaty  with  Den- 
mark, and  by  sowing  dissensions  in  the  Catholic  league.  His 
measures  were  cruel,  but  not  uncalled  for.  Chalais  fell,  but  he 
had  conspired  with  Lorraine  and  Spain ;  Montmorency  fell,  but  he 
had  entered  France  with  arms  in  his  hand  ;  Cinq-Mars  fell,  but 
he  had  invited  foreigners  into  the  kingdom.  Bred  a  simple  priest, 
he  became  not  only  a  great  statesman,  but  a  great  general.  And 
when  La  Rochelle  fell  before  those  measures  to  which  Schomberg 
and  Bassompierre  were  compelled  to  bow,  he  said  to  the  king, 
*•  Sire,  I  am  no  prophet,  but  I  assure  your  majesty  that  if  you  will 
condescend  to  act  as  I  advise  you,  you  will  pacificate  Italy  in  the 
month  of  May,  subjugate  Languedoc  in  the  month  of  July,  and  be 
on  your  return  in  the  month  of  August.'  And  each  of  these 
prophecies  he  accomplished  in  its  time  and  place,  and  in  such 
wise  that,  from  that  moment,  Louis  XIII.  vowed  to  follow  forever 
the  counsels  of  a  man  by  which  he  had  so  well  profited.  Finally, 
he  died,  as  Montesquieu  asserts,  after  having  made  the  monarch 
enact  the  secondary  character  in  the  monarchy,  but  the  first  in 
Europe  ;  after  having  abased  the  king,  but  after  having  made  his 
reign  illustrious  ;  and  after  having  mowed  down  rebellion  so  close 
to  the  soil,  that  the  descendants  of  those  who  had  composed  the 
league  could  only  form  the  Fronde,  as,  after  the  reign  of  Napo- 
leon, the  successors  of  the  La  Vendee  of  '93  could  only  execute 
the  Vendee  of  '32." 

Louis  XIII.   did   not   long  survive  this  greatest  of  ministers. 


128  Richelieu's  policy.  [chap.  xi. 

Naturally  weak,  lie  was  still  weaker  by  disease.     He  was  reduced 
to  skin  and  bone.     In  this  state,  he  called  a  council,  nominated 
his  queen,  Anne  of  Austria,  regent,  during  the  minority  of  his  son 
Louis  XIV.,   then   four  years   of  age,   and   shortly  after   died, 
^  m  1643. 
I     j^azajin,  the  new  minister,  followed  out  the  policy  of  Richelieu. 
/  The  war  with  Austria  and  Spain  was  continued,  which  was  closed, 
I  on  the  Spanish  side,  by  the  victory  of  Rocroi,  in  1643,  obtained 
by  the  Prince  of  Conde,  and  in  which  battle  twenty-three  thousand 
Frenchmen   completely   routed    twenty-six   thousand    Spaniards, 
/  killing  eight  thousand,  and  taking  six  thousand  prisoners  —  one  of 
j  the  bloodiest  battles  ever  fought.     The  great  Conde  here  obtained 
those  laurels  which  subsequent  disgrace  could  never  take  away. 
The  war  on  the  side  of  Germany  was  closed,  in  1648,  by  the 
peace  of  Westphalia.     Turenne  fii-st  appeared  in  the  latter  cam- 
paign of  this  long  war,  but  gained  no  signal  victory. 

Cardinal  Mazarin,  a  subtle  and  intriguing  Italian,  while  he 
pursued  the  policy  of  Richelieu,  had  not  his  genius  or  success. 
He  was  soon  involved  in  domestic  troubles.  The  aristocracy 
rebelled.  Had  they  been  united,  they  would  have  succeeded ;  but 
their  rivalries,  jealousies,  and  squabbles  divided  their  strength  and 
distracted  their  councils.  Their  cause  was  lost,  and  Mazarin 
triumphed,  more  from  their  divisions  than  from  his  own  strength. 

He  fii-st  had  to  oppose  a  clique  of  young  nobles,  full  of  arro- 
gance and  self-conceit,  but  scions  of  the  greatest  families.  They 
lioped  to  recover  the  ancient  ascendency  of  their  houses.  The 
chief  of  these  were  the  Dukes  of  Beaufort,  Epernon,  and  Guise. 
They  made  use,  as  their  tool,  of  Madame  Chevreuse,  the  confi- 
dential friend  of  the  queen  regent.  And  she  demanded  of  the 
minister  that  posts  of  honor  and  power  should  be  given  to  her 
friends,  which  would  secure  that  independence  which  Richelieu 
had  spent  his  life  in  restraining.  Mazarin  tried  to  amuse  her,  but, 
she  being  inexorable,  he  was  obliged  to  break  with  her,  and  a 
conspiracy  was  the  result,  which,  however,  was  easily  suppressed. 

But  a  more  formidable  enemy  appeared  in  the  pei-son  of  De 
Retz,  coadjutor  archbishop  of  Paris,  and  after\vards  cardinal,  a 
man  of  boundless  intrigue,  unconquerable  ambition,  and  restless 
discontent.     To  detail  his  plots  and  intrigues,-would  be  to  describe 


CIiAP.  XI.]  CARDINAL   DE    RETZ.  129 

a  labyrinth.  He  succeeded,  however,  in  keeping  the  country 
in  perpetual  turmoil,  now  inflaming  the  minds  of  the  people, 
then  exciting  insurrections  among  the  nobles,  and  then,  again, 
encouraging  the  parliaments  in  resistance.  He  never  appeared 
as  an  actor,  but  every  movement  was  directed  by  his  genius. 
He  did  not  escape  suspicion,  but  committed  no  overt  acts  by  which 
he  could  be  punished.  He  and  the  celebrated  Duchess  de  Longue- 
ville,  a  woman  who  had  as  great  a  talent  for  intrigue  as  himself, 
were  the  life  and  soul  of  the  Fronde  —  a  civil  war  which  ended, 
only  in  the  reestablishment  of  the  monarchy  on  a  firmer  founda- 
tion. As  the  Fronde  had  been  commenced  by  a  troop  of  urchins, 
who,  at  the  same  time,  amused  themselves  with  slings,  the  wits 
of  the  court  called  the  insurgents  frondeurs,  or  slingers,  insinu- 
ating that  their  force  was  trifling,  and  their  aim  mischief. 

Nevertheless,  the  Frondeurs  kept  France  in  a  sta,te  of  anarchy 
for  six  years,  and  they  were  headed  by  some  of  the  most  powerful 
nobles,  and  even  supported  by  the  Parliament  of  Paris.  The 
people,  too,  were  on  the  side  of  the  rebels,  since  they  were  ground 
down  by  taxation,  and  hoped  to  gain  a  relief  from  their  troubles. 
But  the  rebels  took  the  side  of  the  oppressed  only  for  their  private 
advantage,  and  the  parliament  itself  lacked  the  perseverance  and 
intrepidity  necessary  to  secure  its  liberty.  The  civil  war  of  the 
Fronde,  though  headed  by  discontented  nobles,  and  animated  by 
the  intrigues  of  a  turbulent  ecclesiastic,  was  really  the  contest 
between  the  parliament  and  the  arbitrary  power  of  the  govern- 
ment. And  the  insurrection  would  have  been  fearful  and  suc- 
cessful, had  the  people  been  firm,  or  the  nobles  faithful  to  the 
cause  they  defended.  But  the  English  Revolution,  then  in 
progress,  and  in  which  a  king  had  been  executed,  shocked  the 
lovers  of  constitutional  liberty  in  France,  and  reacted  then,  even 
as  the  French  Revolution  afterwards  reacted  on  the  English  mind. 
Moreover,  the  excesses  which  the  people  perpetrated  at  Paris, 
alarmed  the  parliament  and  the  nobles  who  were  allied  with  it,  while 
it  urged  on  the  ministers  to  desperate  courses.  The  prince  of 
Conde,  whose  victories  had  given  him  an  immortality,  dallied  with 
both  parties,  as  his  interests  served.  Allied  with  the  court,  he 
could  overpower  the  insurgents ;  but  allied  with  the  insurgents,  he 
could  control  the  court.     Sometimes  he  sided  with  the  minister, 

K 


130  PRINCB   OF   C0Nd6.  [cHAF.  XI. 

and  sometimes  with  the  insurgents,  but  in  neither  case  unless  he 
exercised  a  power  and  enjoyed  a  remuneration  dangerous  in  any 
government  Both  parties  were  jealous  of  him,  both  feared  him, 
both  hated  him,  both  insulted  him,  and  both  courted  him.  At  one 
time,  he  headed  tlie  royal  troops  to  attack  Paris,  which  was  gen- 
erally in  the  hands  of  the  people  and  of  parliament ;  and  then,  at 
another,  he  fought  like  a  tiger  to  defend  himself  in  Paris  against 
the  royal  troops.  He  had  no  sympathy  with  either  the  parliament 
or  the  people,  while  he  fought  for  them ;  and  he  venerated  the 
throne,  while  he  rebelled  against  it.  His  name  was  Louis  de 
Bourbon,  and  he  was  a  prince  of  the  blood.  He  contended 
against  the  crown  only  to  wrest  from  it  the  ancient  power  of  the 
great  nobles;  and  to  gain  this  object,  he  thought  to  make  the 
parliament  and  the  Parisian  mob  his  tools.  The  parliament, 
sincerely  devoted  to  liberty,  thought  to  make  the  nobles  its  tools, 
and  only  leagued  with  them  to  secure  their  services.  The  crafty 
Mazarin  quietly  beheld  these  dissensions,  and  was  sure  of  ultimate 
success,  even  though  at  one  time  banished  to  Cologne.  And,  like 
a  reed,  he  was  ever  ready  to  bend  to  difficulties  he  could  not  con- 
trol. But  he  stooped  to  conquer.  He  at  last  got  the  Prince  of 
Conde,  his  brother  the  Prince  of  Conti,  and  the  Duke  of  Longue- 
ville,  in  his  power.  When  the  Duke  of  Orleans  heard  of  it,  he 
said,  "  He  has  taken  a  good  haul  in  the  net ;  he  has  taken  a  lion, 
a  fox,  and  a  monkey."  But  the  princes  escaped  from  the  net, 
and,  leagued  with  Turenne,  Bouillon,  La  Rochefoucault,  and  other 
great  nobles,  reached  Paris,  and'  were  received  with  acclamations 
of  joy  by  the  misguided  people.  Then,  again,  they  obtained  the 
ascendant.  But  the  ascendency  was  no  sooner  gained  than  the 
victors  quarrelled  with  themselves,  and  with  the  parliament,  for 
whose  cause  they  professed  to  contend.  It  was  in  their  power, 
when  united,  to  have  deprived  the  queen  regent  of  her  authority, 
and  to  have  established  constitutional  liberty  in  France.  But  they 
would  not  unite.  There  was  no  spirit  of  disinterestedness,  nor  of 
patriotism,  nor  public  virtue,  without  which  liberty  is  impossible, 
3ven  though  there  were  forces  enough  to  batter  down  Mount  Atlas. 
Conde,  the  victor,  suffered  himself  to  be  again  bribed  by  the 
court.  He  would  not  persevere  in  his  alliance  with  either  nobles 
or  the  parliament.     He  did  not  unite  with  the  nobles  because  he 


CHAP.  XI.]  POWER    OF    MAZARIN.  _  131 

felt  that  he  was  a  prince.  He  did  not  continue  with  the  parUa- 
ment,  because  he  had  no  sympathy  with  freedom.  The  cause 
of  the  nobles  was  lost  for  want  of  mutual  confidence ;  that  of 
the  parliament  for  lack  of  the  spirit  of  perseverance.  The  par- 
liament, at  length,  grew  weary  of  war  and  of  popular  commo- 
tions, and  submitted  to  the  court.  All  parties  hated  and  distrusted 
each  other,  more  than  they  did  the  iron  despotism  of  Mazarin. 
The  power  of  insurgent  nobles  declined.  De  Retz,  the  arch 
intriguer,  was  driven  from  Paris.  The  Duchess  de  Longueville 
sought  refuge  in  the  vale  of  Port  Royal ;  and,  in  the  Jansenist 
doctrines,  sought  that  happiness  which  earthly  grandeur  could  not 
secure.  Conde  quitted  Paris  to  join  the  Spanish  armies.  The  rest 
of  the  rebellious  nobles  made  humble  submission.  The  people 
found  they  had  nothing  to  gain  from  any  doniinant  party,  and 
resigned  themselves  to  another  long  period  of  political  and  social 
slavery.  The  magistrates  abandoned,  in  despair  and  disgust,  their 
high  claims  to  political  rights,  while  the  young  king,  on  his  bed 
of  justice,  decreed  that  parliament  should  no  more  presume  to 
discuss  or  meddle  with  state  affairs.  The  submissive  parliament 
registered,  without  a  murmur,  the  edict  which  gave  a  finishing 
stroke  to  its  liberties.  The  Fronde  war  was  a  complete  failure, 
because  all  parties  usurped  powers  which  did  not  belong  to 
them,  and  were  jealous  of  the  rights  of  each  other.  The  nobles 
wished  to  control  the  king,  and  the  magistracy  put  itself  forward 
to  represent  the  commons,  when  the  states  general  alone  was  the 
ancient  and  true  representative  of  the  nation,  and  the  body  to 
which  it  should  have  appealed.  The  Fronde  rebellion  was  a 
failure,  because  it  did  not  consult  constitutional  forms,  because  it 
formed  unnatural  alliances,  and  because  it  did  not  throw  itself 
upon  the  force  of  immortal  principles,  but  sought  to  support  itself 
by  mere  physical  strength  rather  than  by  moral  power,  which 
alone  is  the  secret  and  the  glory  of  all  great  internal  changes. 

The  return  of  Cardinal  Mazarin  to  power,  as  me  minister  of 
Louis  XIV.,  was  the  era  of  his  grandeur.  His  first  care  was  to 
restore  the  public  finances ;  his  second  was  to  secure  his  personal 
aggrandizement.  He  obtained  all  the  power  which  Richelieu  had 
enjoyed,  and  reproved  the  king,  and  such  a  king  as  Louis  XIV.,  as 
he  would  a  schoolboy.     He  enriched  and  elevated  his  relatives 


132  DEATH    OF    MAZARIN.  [cHAP.    XI. 

married  them  into  the  first  families  of  France ;  and  amassed  a 
fortune  of  two  hundred  millions  of  Kvres,  the  largest  perhaps  that 
any  subject  has  secured  in  modern  times.  He  even  aspired  to  the 
popedom ;  but  this  greatest  of  all  human  dignities  he  was  not 
j>ermitted  to  obtain.  A  fatal  malady  seized  him,  and  the  phy- 
sicians told  him  he  had  not  two  months  to  live.  Some  days  after, 
he  was  seen  in  his  dressing-gown,  among  his  pictures,  of  which 
he  was  extravagantly  fond,  and  exclaimed, "  Must  I  quit  all  these  ? 
Look  at  that  Correggio,  this  Venus  of  Titian,  this  incomparable 
deluge  of  Carracci.  Farewell,  dear  pictures,  that  I  have. loved  so 
dearly,  and  that  have  cost  me  so  much." 

The  minister  lingered  awhile,  and  amused  his  last  hours  with 
cards.  He  expired  in  1661  ;  and  no  minister  after  him  was  in- 
trusted with  such  great  power.  He  died  unlamented,  even  by  his 
sovereign,  whose  throne  he  had  preserved,  and  whose  fortune  he 
had  repaired.  He  had  great  talents  of  conversation,  was  witty, 
artful,  and  polite.  He  completed  the  work  which  Richelieu  began ; 
and,  at  his  death,  his  master  was  the  most  absolute  monarch  that 
ever  reigned  in  France. 


References.  —  Louis  XTV.  et  son  Si^cle.  Miss  Pardoe's  History  of 
Louis  XIV.  Voltaire's  and  James's  Lives  of  Lotiis  XTV.  Memoirs  of 
Cardinal  Richelieu.  Memoirs  of  Mazarin.  M6moires  de  Mademoiselle  do 
Montpensier.  M6moires  du  Due  de  Saint  Simon.  Life  of  Cardinal  do 
Retz,  in  which  the  Fronde  war  is  well  traced.  Memoir  of  the  Duchess  de 
Longuevillc.  Lacretelle's  History  of  France.  Rankin's  History  of  France. 
Sismondi's  History  of  France.  Crowe's  History,  in  Lardner's  Cyclopedia. 
Bowring's  History  of  the  Huguenots,  Lord  Mahon's  Life  of  the  Prince  of 
Conde.    The  above  works  are  the  most  accessible  to  the  American  student. 


1 


CHAP.  XII.]  ACCESSION    OF    JAMES   I.  133 

CHAPTER    XII. 

THE  REIGNS  OF  JAMES  I.  AND  CHARLES  I. 

While  the  Protestants  in  Germany  were  struggling  for  religious 
liberty,  and  the  Parliaments  of  France  for  political  privileges, 
there  was  a  contest  going  on  in  England  for  the  attainment  of  the 
same  great  ends.  With  the  accession  of  James  I.  a  new  era 
commences  in  English  history,  marked  by  the  growing  im- 
portance of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  their  struggles  for 
civil  and  religious  liberty.  The  Commons  had  not  been  entirely 
silent  during  the  long  reign  of  Elizabeth,  but  members  of  them 
occasionally  dared  to  assert  those  rights  of  which  Englishmen 
are  proud.  The  queen  was  particularly  sensitive  to  any  thing 
which  pertained  to  her  prerogative,  and  generally  sent  to  the 
Tower  any  man  who  boldly  expressed  his  opinion  on  subjects 
which  she  deemed  that  she  and  her  ministers  alone  had  the  right 
to  discuss.  These  forbidden  subjects  were  those  which  pertained 
to  the  management  of  religion,  to  her  particular  courts,  and  to  her 
succession  to  the  crown.  She  never  made  an  attack  on  what  she 
conceived  to  be  the  constitution,  •  but  only  zealously  defended 
what  she  considered  as  her  own  rights.  And  she  was  ever 
sufficiently  wise  to  yield  a  point  to  the  commons,  after  she  had 
asserted  her  power,  so  that  concession,  on  her  part,  had  all  the 
appearance  of  bestowing  a  favor.  She  never  pushed  matters  to 
extremity,  but  gave  way  in  good  time.  And  in  this  policy  she 
showed  great  wisdom  ;  so  that,  in  spite  of  all  her  crimes  and 
caprices,  she  ever  retained  the  affections  of  the  English  people. 

The  son  of  her  rival,  Mary  Stuart,  Queen  of  Scots,  ascended  the 
throne,  (1603,)  under  the  title  of  James  J.,  and  was  the  first  of 
the  Stuart  kings.  He  had  been  king  of  Scotland  under  the  title  of 
James  VI.^  and  had  there  many  difficulties  to  contend  with,  chiefly 
in  consequence  of  the  turbulence  of  the  nobles,  and  the  bigotry 
of  the  reformers.  He  was  eager  to  take  possession  of  his  English 
inheritance,  but  was  so  poor  that  he  could  not  begin  his  journey 
12 


134  THE   GENIUS    OF    THE    REIGN    OF    JAMES.        [CHAF.  XII. 

until  Cecil  sent  him  the  money.     He  was  crowned,  with  great 
ceremony,  in  Westminster  Abbey,  on  the  25th  of  June. 

The  first  acts  of  his  reign  were  unpopular ;  and  it  was  subse- 
quently disgraced  by  a  continual  succession  of  political  blunders. 
To  detail  these,  or  to  mention  all  the  acts  of  this  king,  or  tho 
events  of  his  inglorious  reign  would  fill  a  volume  larger  than  this 
History.  Moreover,  from  this  period,  modern  history  becomes  very 
complicated  and  voluminous,  and  all  that  can  be  attempted  in  this 
work  is,  an  allusion  to  the  principal  events. 

The  genius  of  this  reign  is  the  contest  between  royal  prerogative 
and  popular  freedom.  The  proceedings  in  parliament  were  charac- 
terized by  a  spirit  of  boldness  and  resistance  never  before  manifested, 
while  the  speeches  and  acts  of  the  king  were  marked  by  an  obsti- 
nate and  stupid  pertinacity  to  those  privileges  which  absolute  kings 
extorted  from  their  subjects  in  former  ages  of  despotism  and  dark- 
ness. The  boldness  of  the  Commons  and  the  bigotry  of  the  king 
led  to  incessant  disagreement  and  discontent ;  and,  finally,  under 
Charles  I.,  to  open  rupture,  revolution,  and  strife. 

The  progress  of  this  insurrection  and  contest  furnishes  one  of 
the  most  important  and  instructive  chapters  in  the  history  of  society 
and  the  young  student  cannot  make  himself  too  familiar  with  de- 
tails, of  which  our  limits  forbid  a  description. 

The  great  Puritan  contest  here  begins,  destined  not  to  be  closed 
until  after  two  revolutions,  and  .nearly  a  century  of  anxiety,  suffer- 
ing, and  strife.  Providence  raised  up,  during  the  whole  of  the 
Stuart  dynasty,  great  patriots  and  statesmen,  who  had  an  eye  to 
perceive  the  true  interests  and  rights  of  the  people,  and  a  heart 
and  a  hand  to  defend  them.  No  period  and  no  nation  have  ever 
been  more  fertile  in  great  men  than  England  was  from  the  acces- 
sion of  James  I.  to  the  abdication  of  James  II.,  a  period  of  eighty- 
five  years.  Shakspeare,  Raleigh,  Coke,  Bacon,  Cecil,  Selden, 
Pym,  Wentworth,  Hollis,  Leighton,  Taylor,  Baxter,  Howe,  Crom- 
well, Hampden,  Blake,  Vane,  Milton,Clarendon,  Burnet,  Shaftes- 
bury, are  some  of  the  luminaries  which  have  shed  a  light  down 
to  our  own  times,  and  will  continue  to  shine  through  all  future 
ages.  They  were  not  all  contemporaneous,  but  they  all  took  part, 
more  or  less,  on  one  side  or  the  other,  in  the  great  contest  of 
the  seventeenth  century.     Whether  statesmen,  warriors,  poets,  or 


CHAP.  XII.]  CONSPIRACY   OF    SIR   WALTER    RALEIGH.  135 

divines,  they  alike  made  their  age  an  epoch,  and  their  little  island 
the  moral  centre  of  the  world. 

But  we  must  first  allude  to  some  of  the  events  of  the  reign  of 
James  I.,  before  the  struggle  between  prerogative  and  liberty- 
attracted  the  attention  of  Europe. 

One  of  the  first  was  the  conspiracy  against  the  king,  in  which 
Lord  Cobham  and  Sir  Walter  Ealeigh  were  engaged.  We  lament 
that  so  great  a  favorite  with  all  readers  as  Sir  Walter  Raleigh, 
so  universal  a  genius,  a  man  so  learned,  accomplished,  and  brave, 
should  have  even  been  suspected  of  a  treasonable  project,  and 
without  the  excuse  of  some  traitors,  that  they  wished  to  deliver 
their  country  from  tyranny.  But  there  is  no  perfection  in  man. 
Sir  Walter  was  restless  and  ambitious,  and  had  an  eye  mainly  to 
his  own  advantage.  His  wit,  gallantry,  and  chivalry  were  doubt- 
less very  pleasing  qualities  in  a  courtier,  but  are  not  the  best  quali- 
ties of  a  patriot.  He  was  disappointed  because  he  could  not  keep 
pace  with  Cecil  in  the  favor  of  his  sovereign,  and  because  the 
king  took  away  the  monopolies  he  had  enjoyed.  Hence,  in  con- 
junction with  other  disappointed  politicians,  he  was  accused  of  an 
attempt  to  seize  the  king's  person,  to  change  the  ministry,  and  to 
place  the  Lady  Arabella  Stuart  on  the  throne.  Against  Raleigh 
appeared  no  less  a  person  than  the  great  Coke,  who  prosecuted 
him  with  such  vehemence  that  Raleigh  was  found  guilty,  and 
condemned  to  death.  But  the  proofs  of  his  guilt  are  not  so  clear 
as  the  evidence  of  his  ambition  ;  and  much  must  be  attributed  to 
party  animosity.  Though  condemned,  he  was  not  executed  ;  but 
lived  to  write  many  more  books,  and  make  many  more  voyages, 
to  the  great  delight  both  of  the  cultivated  and  the  adventurous. 
That  there  was  a  plot  to  seize  the  king  is  clear,  and  the  conspira- 
tors were  detected  and  executed.  Raleigh  was  suspected  of  this, 
and  perhaps  was  privy  to  it ;  but  the  proofs  of  his  crime  were  not 
apparent,  except  to  the  judges,  and  to  the  attorney-general.  Coke, 
M'ho  compared  the  different  plots  to  Samson's  foxes,  joined  in  the 
tails,  though  their  heads  were  separated. 

The  most  memorable  event  at  this  time  in  the  domestic  history 
of  the  kingdom  was  the  Gunpowder  Plot,  planned  by  Catesby  and 
other  disappointed  and  desperate  Catholics  for  the  murder  of  the 
king,  and  the  destruction  of  both  houses  of  parliament.     Knowing 


136  GUNPOWDER    PLOT.  [cHAP.  XII. 

the  sympathies  of  Jameo  for  their  religion,  the  CathoHcs  had  ex- 
pected toleration,  at  least.  But  when  persecution  continued  against 
them,  some  reckless  and  unprincipled  men  united  in  a  design  to 
blow  up  the  parliament.  Percy,  a  relation  of  the  Earl  of  North- 
umberland, was  concerned  in  the  plot,  and  many  of  the  other  con- 
spirators were  men  of  good  families  and  fortunes,  but  were  implaca- 
ble bigots.  They  hired  a  cellar,  under  the  parliament  house,  which 
had  been  used  for  coals  ;  and  there  they  deposited  thirty-one  barrels 
of  gunpowder,  waiting  several  months  for  a  favorable  time  to  perpe- 
trate one  of  the  most  horrid  crimes  ever  projected.  It  was  resolved 
that  Guy  Fawkes,  one  of  the  number,  should  set  fire  to  the  train. 
They  were  all  ready,  and  the  5th  of  November,  1605,  was  at 
hand,  the  day  to  which  parliament  was  prorogued;  but  Percy 
was  anxious  to  save  his  kinsman  from  the  impending  ruin.  Sir 
Everard  Digby  wished  to  warn  some  of  his  friends,  and  Tresham 
was  resolved  to  give  his  brother-in-law,  Lord  Mounteagle,  a  cau- 
tion. It  seems  that  this  peer  received  a  letter  so  peculiar,  that  he 
carried  it  to  Cecil,  who  showed  it  to  the  king,  and  the  king  de- 
tected or  suspected  a  plot.  The  result  was,  that  the  cellar  was 
explored  by  the  lord  chamberlain,  and  Guy  Fawkes  himself  was 
found,  with  all  the  materials  for  striking  a  light,  near  the  vault  in 
which  the  coal  and  the  gunpowder  were  deposited.  He  was  seized, 
interrogated,  tortured,  and  imprisoned  ;  but  the  wretch  would  not 
reveal  .the  names  of  his  associates,  although  he  gloried  in  the 
crime  he  was  about  to  commit,  and  alleged,  as  his  excuse,  that 
violent  diseases  required  desperate  remedies,  the  maxim  of  the 
Jesuits  But  most  of  the  conspirators  revealed  their  guilt  by  flight. 
They  might  have  escaped,  had  they  fled  from  the  kingdom  ;  but 
they  hastened  only  into  the  country  to  collect  their  friends,  and 
head  an  insurrection,  which,  of  course,  was  easily  suppressed. 
The  leaders  in  this  plot  were  captured  and  executed,  and  richly 
deserved  their  fate,  although  it  was  clear  that  they  were  infatuated. 
But  in  all  crime  there  is  infatuation.  It  was  suspected  that  the 
Jesuits  were  at  the  bottom  of  the  conspiracy ;  and  the  whole  Catho- 
lic population  suffered  reproach  from  the  blindness  and  folly  of  a 
few  bigots,  from  whom  no  sect  or  party  ever  yet  has  been  free. 
But  there  is  no  evidence  that  any  of  the  Catholic  clergy  were  even 
privy  to  the  intended  crime,  which  was  known  only  to  the  absolute 


CHAP.  XII.]  PERSECUTION    OF    THE    CATHOLICS.  137 

plotters.  Some  Jesuits  were  indeed  suspected,  arrested,  tortured, 
and  executed  ;  but  no  evidence  of  guilt  was  brought  against  them 
sufficient  to  convict  them.  But  their  acquittal  was  impossible  in 
such  a  st'ite  of  national  alarm  and  horror.  Nothing  ever  made  a 
more  lasting  and  profound  impression  on  the  English  mind  than 
this  intended  crime  ;  and  it  strengthened  the  prejudices  against  the 
Catholics  even  more  than  the  persecutions  under  Queen  Mary. 
Had  the  crime  been  consummated,  it  would  only  have  proved  a 
blunder.  It  would  have  shocked  and  irritated  the  nation  beyond 
all  self-control ;  and  it  is  probable  that  the  whole  Catholic  popula- 
tion would  have  been  assassinated,  or  hunted  out,  as  victims  for 
the  scaffold,  in  every  corner  of  England.  It  proved,  however,  a 
great  misfortune,  and  the  severest  blow  Catholicism  ever  received 
in  England.  Thus  God  overrules  all  human  wickedness.  There 
was  one  person  who  suffered,  in  consequence  of  the  excited  sus- 
picions of  the  nation,  whose  fate  we  cannot  but  compassionate ; 
and  this  person  was  the  Earl  of  Northumberland,  who  was  sen- 
tenced to  pay  a  fine  of  thirty  thousand  pounds,  to  be  deprived  of 
all  his  offices,  and  to  be  imprisoned  in  the  Tower  for  life,  and 
simply  because  he  was  the  head  of  the  Catholic  party,  and  a  pro- 
moter of  toleration.  Indeed,  penal  statutes  against  the  Catholics 
were  fearfully  multiplied.  No  Catholic  was  permitted  to  appear 
at  court,  or  live  in  London,  or  within  ten  miles  of  it,  or  remove,  on 
any  occasion,  more  than  five  miles  from  his  home,  without  especial 
license.  No  Catholic  recusant  was  permitted  to  practise  surgery, 
physic,  or  law ;  to  act  as  judge,  clerk,  or  officer  of  any  court  or 
c.)rporation ;  or  perform  the  office  of  administrator,  executor,  or 
guardian.  Every  Catholic  who  refused  to  have  his  child  baptized 
by  a  Protestant,  was  obliged  to  pay,  for  each  omission,  one  hun- 
dred pounds.  Every  person  keeping  a  Catholic  servant,  was  com- 
pelled to  pay  ten  pounds  a  month  to  government.  Moreover,  every 
recusant  was  outlawed ;  his  house  might  be  broken  open ;  his 
books  and  furniture  destroyed  ;  and  his  horses  and  arms  taken  from 
him.  Such  was  the  severe  treatment  with  which  the  Catholics, 
even  those  who  were  good  citizens,  were  treated  by  our  fathers  in 
England  ;  and  this  persecution  was  defended  by  some  of  the 
greatest  jurists,  divines,  and  statesmen  which  England  has  pro- 
12* 


13ft  KOBERT    CARR,   EARL    OF    SOMERSET.  [CHAP.  Xll. 

duced.  And  yet  some  maintain  that  there  has  been  no  progress 
in  society,  except  in  material  civilization ! 

One  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  reign  of  James  was,  the  ascen- 
dency which  favorites  obtained  over  him,  so  often  the  mark  of  a 
weak  and  vacillating  mind.  Henry  VIII.  and  Elizabeth  had  their 
favorites ;  but  they  were  ministers  of  the  royal  will.  Moreover, 
tliey,  like  Wolsey,  Cromwell,  Burleigh,  and  Essex,  were  great 
men,  and  worthy  of  the  trust  reposed  in  them.  But  James,  with 
all  his  kingcraft  and  statecraft,  with  all  his  ostentation  and  boasts  of 
knowledge  and  of  sagacity,  reposed  his  confidence  in  such  a  man 
as  Villiers,  Duke  of  Buckingham.  It  is  true  he  also  had  great  men 
to  serve  him ;  Cecil  was  his  secretary.  Bacon  was  his  chancellor, 
and  Coke  was  his  chief  justice.  But  Carr  and  Villiers  rose  above 
them  all  in  dignity  and  honor,  and  were  the  companions  and  confi- 
dential agents  of  their  royal  master. 

Robert  Carr  was  a  Scottish  gentleman,  poor  and  ciinning,  who 
had  early  been  taught  that  personal  beauty,  gay  dress,  and  lively 
manners,  would  make  his  fortune  at  court.  He  first  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  king  at  a  tilting  match,  at  which  he  was  the  esquire 
to  Lord  Dingwall.  In  presenting  his  lord's  shield  to  the  king, 
his  horse  fell  and  threw  him  at  James's  feet.  His  leg  was  broken, 
but  his  fortune  was  made.  James,  struck  with  his  beauty  and 
youth,  and  moved  by  the  accident,  sent  his  own  surgeon  to  him, 
visited  him  himself,  and  even  taught  him  Latin,  seeing  that  the 
scholastic  part  of  his  education  had  been  neglected.  Indeed,  James 
would  have  made  a  much  better  schoolmaster  than  king  ;  and  his 
pedantry  and  conceit  were  beyond  all  bounds,  so  that  Bacon  styled 
him,  either  in  irony  or  sycophancy,  "  the  Solomon  of  the  age." 
Carr  now  became  the  pet  of  the  learned  monarch.  He  was 
knighted,  rich  presents  were  bestowed  on  him,  all  bowed  down  to 
him  as  they  would  have  done  to  a  royal  mistress ;  and  Cecil  and 
Suflfolk  vied  with  each  other  in  their  attempts  to  secure  the  favor 
of  his  friends.  He  gradually  eclipsed  every  great  noble  at  court, 
was  created  Viscount  Rochester,  received  the  Order  of  the  Garter, 
and,  when  Cecil,  then  Earl  of  Salisbury,  died,  received  the  post  of 
the  Earl  of  Suflfolk  as  lord  chamberlain,  he  taking  Cecil's  place 
as  treasurer.  Rochester,  in  effect,  became  prime  minister,  as  Cecil 
had  been.     He  was  then  created  Earl  of  Somerset,  in  order  that 


CHAP.  XII.]  GREATNESS   AND   FALL   OF    SOMERSET.  139 

he  might  marry  the  Countess  of  Essex,  the  most  beautiful  and 
fascinating  woman  at  the  Enghsh  court.  She  was  daughter  of  the 
Earl  of  Suffolk,  and  granddaughter  of  the  old  Duke  of  Norfolk, 
executed  in  1572,  and,  consequently,  belonged  to  the  first  family 
in  the  realm.  She  was  married  to  Essex  at  the  age  of  thirteen, 
but  treated  him  with  contempt  and  coldness,  being  already  enam- 
ored of  the  handsome  favorite.  That  she  might  marry  Carr  she 
obtained  a  divorce  from  her  husband  on  the  most  frivolous  grounds, 
and  through  the  favor  of  the  king,  who  would  do  any  thing  for  the 
man  he  delighted  to  honor.  She  succeeded  in  obtaining  her  end, 
and  caused  the  ruin  of  all  who  opposed  her  wishes.  But  she  proved 
a  beautiful  demon,  a  fascinating  fury,  as  might  be  expected  from 
such  an  unprincipled  woman,  although  ennobled  by  "  the  blood  of 
all  the  Howards."  Her  reign  lasted,  however,  only  during  the 
ascendency  of  her  husband.  For  a  time,  "  glorious  days  were 
succeeded  by  as  glorious  nights,  when  masks  and  dancings  had 
a  continual  motion,  and  when  banquetings  rapt  up  the  spirit  of 
the  sacred  king,  and  kept  it  from  descending  to  earthly  things," 
But  whatever  royal  favor  stamps,  royal  favor,  like  fashion,  leaves. 
Carr  was  supplanted  by  Villiers,  and  his  doom  was  sealed.  For 
the  murder  of  his  old  friend  Sir  Thomas  Overbuiy,  who  died  in 
the  Tower,  as  it  was  then  supposed  by  poison,  he  and  his  countess 
were  tried,  found  guilty,  and  disgraced.  But  he  was  not  executed, 
and,  after  a  few  years'  imprisonment,  retired  to  the  country,  with 
his  lady,  to  reproach  and  hate  each  other.  Their  only  child,  the 
Lady  Anna  Carr,  a  woman  of  great  honor  and  virtue,  married  the 
first  duke  of  Bedford,  and  was  the  mother  of  Lord  Russell  who 
died  on  the  scaffold,  a  martyr  to  liberty,  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II. 
The  origin  of  the  noble  families  of  England  is  curious.  Some  few 
are  descended  from  successful  Norman  chieftains,  who  came  over 
with  William  the  Conqueror,  and  whose  merit  was  in  their  sword. 
Others  are  the  descendants  of  those  who,  as  courtiers,  statesmen, 
or  warriors,  obtained  great  position,  power,  and  wealth,  during 
former  reigns.  Many  owe  their  greatness  to  the  fact  that  they  are 
the  offspring  of  the  illegitimate  children  of  kings,  or  the  descend- 
ants of  the  ignoble  minions  of  kings.  Some  few  are  enrolled  in 
the  peerage  on  account  of  their  great  wealth ;  and  a  still  smaller 
number  for  the  eminent  services  they  have  rendered  their  country, 


140  DUKE   OF   BUCKINGHAM.  [cHAP.  XII. 

like  Wellington,  Brougham,  or  EUenborough.  A  vast  majority 
can  boast  only  the  merit  or  the  successful  baseness  of  their  an- 
cestors. But  all  of  them  are  interlinked  by  marriages,  and  there- 
fore share  together  the  glory  or  the  shame  of  their  progenitors, 
90  far  as  glory  and  shame  can  be  transmitted  from  father  to  son, 
independently  of  all  individual  virtue  or  vice. 

Carr  was  succeeded  in  the  royal  favor  by  Villiers,  and  he, 
more  fortunate,  ever  retained  the  ascendency  over  the  mind  and 
heart  of  James,  as  well  as  of  his  son  Charles  I.  GJeorge  Villiers 
owed  his  fortune,  not  to  his  birth  or  talents,  but  to  his  fine  clothes, 
his  Parisian  manners,  smooth  face,  tall  figure,  and  bland  smiles. 
He  became  cup-bearer,  then  knight,  then  gentleman  of  the  privy 
council,  then  earl,  then  marquis,  and  finally  duke  of  Buckingham, 
lord  high  admiral,  warden  of  the  Cinque  Ports,  high  steward  of 
Westminster,  constable  of  Windsor  Castle,  and  chief  justice  in 
eyre  of  the  parks  and  forests.  "  The  doting  and  gloating  king  " 
had  taught  Somerset  Latin ;  he  attempted  to  teach  Buckingham 
divinity,  and  called  him  ever  by  the  name  of  "  Steenie."  And 
never  was  there  such  a  mixture  of  finery,  effeminacy,  insolence, 
and  sycophancy  in  any  royal  minion  before  or  since.  Beau 
Brummell  never  equalled  him  in  dress,  Wolsey  in  magnificence, 
Mazarin  in  peculation,  Walpole  in  corruption,  Jeffries  in  inso- 
lence, or  Norfolk  in  pride.  He  was  the  constant  companion  of  the 
king,  to  whose  vices  he  pandered,  and  through  him  the  royal  favor 
flowed.  But  no  rewards,  or  favors,  or  greatness  satisfied  him ; 
not  so  much  because  he  was  ambitious,  as  because,  like  a  spoiled 
child,  he  did  not  appreciate  the  magnitude  of  the  gifts  which 
were  bestowed  on  him.  Nor  did  he  ever  know  his  place ;  but 
made  love  to  the  queen  of  France  herself,  when  he  was  sent  on 
an  embassy.  He  trampled  on  the  constitution,  subverted  the  laws, 
ground  down  the  people  by  taxes,  and  taught  the  king  to  disre- 
gard the  affections  of  his  subjects,  and  to  view  them  as  his  slaves. 
But  such  a  triumph  of  iniquity  could  not  be  endured  ;  and  Bucking- 
ham was  finally  assassinated,  after  he  had  gained  an  elevation  higher 
than  any  English  subject  ever  before  attained,  except  Wolsey, 
and  without  the  exercise  of  any  qualities  which  entitled  him  to  a 
higher  position  than  a  master  of  ceremonies  at  a  fashionable  ball. 
It  is  easy  to  conceive  that  sfieh  a  minion  should  arrive  at  power 


CHAP.  XII.]  LORD   BACON.  141 

under  such  a  monarch  as  James  ;  but  how  can  we  understand  that 
such  a  man  as  Lord  Bacon,  the  chancellor,  the  philosopher,  the 
statesman,  the  man  of  learning,  genius,  and  wisdom,  should  have 
bowed  down  to  the  dust,  in  vile  subserviency,  to  this  infamous 
favorite  of  the  king.  Surely,  what  lessons  of  the  frailty  of  human 
nature  does  the  reign  of  James  teach  us  !  The  most  melancholy 
instance  of  all  the  singular  cases  of  human  inconsistency,  at 
this  time,  is  the  conduct  of  the  great  Bacon  himself,  who  reached 
the  zenith  of  his  power  during  this  reign.  It  is  not  the  receiving 
of  a  bribe,  while  exercising  the  highest  judicial  authority  in  the 
land,  on  which  alone  his  shame  rests,  but  his  insolent  conduct  to 
his  inferiors,  his  acquiescence  in  wrong,  his  base  and  unmanly 
sycophancy,  his  ingratitude  to  his  friends  and  patrons,  his  intense 
selfishness  and  unscrupulous  ambition  while  climbing  to  power, 
and,  above  all,  his  willingness  to  be  the  tool  of  a  despot  who 
trampled  on  the  rights  and  liberties  which  God  had  given  him  to 
guard  ;  and  this  in  an  age  of  light,  of  awakened  intelligence, 
when  even  his  crabbed  rival  Coke  was  seeking  to  explode  the 
abuses  of  the  Dark  Ages.  But  "  the  difference  between  the  soaring 
angel  and  the  creeping  snake,  was  but  a  type  of  the  difference 
between  Bacon  the  philosopher  and  Bacon  the  attorney-general. 
Bacon  seeking  for  truth  and  Bacon  seeking  for  the  Seals."  As 
the  author  of  the  Novum  Organum,  as  the  pioneer  of  modem 
science,  as  the  calm  and  patient  investigator  of  nature's  laws,  as 
the  miner  and  sapper  of  the  old  false  systems  of  philosophy  which 
enslaved  the  human  mind,  as  the  writer  for  future  generations, 
he  has  received,  as  he  has  deserved,  all  the  glory  which  ad- 
miring and  grateful  millions  can  bestow,  of  his  own  nation,  and 
of  all  nations.  No  name  in  British  annals  is  more  illustrious  than 
his,  and  none  which  is  shaded  with  more  lasting  shame.  Pope 
alone  would  have  given  him  an  immortality  as  the  "  wisest, 
brightest,  meanest  of  mankind."  The  only  defence  for  the 
political  baseness  of  Bacon  —  and  this  is  insufficient  —  is,  that  ^11 
were  base  around  him.  The  years  when  he  was  in  power  are 
among  the  darkest  and  most  disgraceful  in  English  history. 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  the  reign  of  favorites ;  but  this  was 
but  a  small  part  of  the  evils  of  the  times.  Every  thing  abroad 
and   at  home   was   mismanaged.     Patents   of  monopolies   were 


142  TBIAL   AND   EXECUTION   OF   EALEIGH.  [cHAP.  XII. 

multiplied  ;  the  most  grievous  exactions  were  made  ;  indefensible 
executions  were  ordered ;  the  laws  were  perverted ;  justice  was 
sold ;  and  an  ignominious  war  was  closed  by  a  still  more  igno- 
minious peace.  The  execution  of  Raleigh  was  a  disgrace  to  the 
king,  the  court,  and  the  nation,  because  the  manner  of  it  was  so 
cowardly  and  crueL  He  had  been  convicted,  in  the  early  part  of 
the  reign,  of  treason,  and  committed  to  the  Tower.  There  he 
languished  twelve  years,  amusing  himself  by  writing  a  universal 
history,  and  in  seeking  the  elixir  of  life  ;  for,  in  the  mysteries  of 
chemistry,  and  in  the  mazes  of  historical  lore,  as  in  the  intrigues 
of  courts,  and  dangers  of  camps,  he  was  equally  at  home. 

He  was  released  from  his  prison  in  order  to  take  command  of 
an  adventurous  expedition  to  Guiana  in  quest  of  gold.  In  a 
former  voyage  he  had  visited  the  banks  of  the  Oronoco  in  quest 
of  ,A^  ci^  of  Manoa,  where  precious  stones  and  gold  existed  in 
exhahstllls  treasures.  That  El  Dorado  he  could  not  find;  but 
now,  9i  prison,  he  proposed  to  Secretary  Winwood  an  expedition 
to  secure  what  he  had  before  sought  in  vain.  The  king  wavered 
a  while  between  his  cupidity  and  fear ;  for,  while  he  longed  for 
gold,  as  the  traveller  does  for  water  on  the  desert  of  Sahara,  he 
was  afraid  of  giving  offence  to  the  Spanish  ambassador.  But  his 
cupidity  was  the  stronger  feeling,  and  Raleigh  was  sent  with 
fourteen  ships  to  the  coasts  of  South  America.  The  expedition 
was  in  every  respect  unfortunate  to  Raleigh  and  to  the  king. 
The  gallant  commander  lost  hi&  private  fortune  and  a  promising 
son,  the  Spaniards  attacked  his  armament,  his  troops  mutinied 
and  deserted,  and  he  returned  to  England,  with  a  sullied  fame,  to 
meet  a  disappointed  sovereign  and  implacable  enemies.  In  such 
times,  failure  is  tantamount  to  crime,  and  Raleigh  was  tried  for 
offences  he  never  committed.  The  most  glaring  injustice,  harsh- 
ness, and  sophistry  were  resorted  to,  even  by  Bacon;  but  still 
Raleigh  triumphantly  defended  himself.  But  no  innocence  or 
eloquence  could  save  him ;  and  he  was  executed  on  the  sentence 
which  had  been  pronounced  against  him  for  treason  fifteen  years 
before.  To  such  meanness  and  cowardice  did  his  enemies  resort 
to  rid  the  world  of  a  universal  genius,  whose  crime  —  if  crime 
he  ever  committed  —  had  long  been  consigned  to  oblivion. 
^    But  we  cannot  longer  dwell  on  the  lives  of  eminent  individuals 


CHAP.  XII.]  ENCROACHMENTS    OF   JAMES.  143 

during  the  reign  of  James.  However  interesting  may  be  the 
details  of  their  fortunes,  their  history  dwindles  into  insignificance 
when  compared  with  the  great  public  injuries  which  an  infatuated 
monarch  inflicted.  Not  cruel  in  his  temper,  not  stained  by  per- 
sonal crimes,  quite  learned  in  Greek  and  Latin,  but  weak  and  igno- 
rant of  his  duties  as  a  king,  he  was  inclined  to  trespass  on  the  rights 
of  his  subjects.  As  has  been  already  remarked,  the  genius  of  his  reign 
was  the  contest  between  prerogative  and  liberty.  The  Commons  did 
not  acquiesce  in  his  measures,  or  yield  to  his  wishes,  as  they  did 
during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.  He  had  a  notion  that  the  duty  of 
a  king  was  to  command,  and  that  of  the  subject  was  to  obey,  in 
all  things ;  that  kings  ruled  by  divine  right,  and  were  raised  by  the 
Almighty  above  all  law.  But  such  notions  were  not  approved  by 
a  parliament  which  swarmed  with  Puritans,  and  who  were  not 
careful  to  conceal  their  views  from  the  king.  They  insisted  on 
their  privileges  as  tenaciously  as  the  king  insisted  on  his  prerogative, 
and  often  came  into  collision  with  him.  And  they  instituted  an 
inquiry  into  monopolies,  and  attacked  the  monstrous  abuses  of 
purveyance,  and  the  incidents  of  feudal  tenure,  by  which,  among 
other  things,  the  king  became  guardian  to  wards,  and  received  the 
profits  of  their  estates  during  their  minority.  These  feudal 
claims,  by  which  the  king,  in  part,  received  his  revenue,  were 
every  year  becoming  less  valuable  to  the  crown,  and  more  offen- 
sive to  the  people.  The  king,  at  length,  was  willing  to  compound, 
and  make  a  bargain  with  the  Commons,  by  which  he  was  to 
receive  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  a  year,  instead  of  the  privi- 
leges of  wardship,  and  other  feudal  rights.  But  his  necessities 
required  additional  grants,  which  the  Commons  were  unwilling 
to  bestow ;  and  the  king  then  resorted  to  the  sale  of  monopolies, 
and  even  peerages,  sent  the  more  turbulent  of  the  Commons  to 
prison,  and  frequently  dissolved  parliament.  He  was  resolved 
to  tax  the  people  if  supplies  were  not  granted  him,  while  the 
Commons  maintained  that  no  taxation  could  be  allowed  without 
their  consent.  Moreover,  the  Commons  refused  to  grant  such 
supplies  as  the  king  fancied  he  needed,  unless  certam  grievances 
were  redressed,  among  which  was  the  High  Commission  Court,  an 
arbitrary  tribunal,  which  fined  and  imprisoned  without  appeal. 
But  James,  though  pressed  for  money,  stood  firm  to  his  notions 


144  QUARREL    BETWEEN    JAMES    AND    PARLIAMENT.     [CHAP.  XII. 

of  prerogative,  and  supplied  his  most  urgent  necessities  by  illegal 
means.  People  were  dragged  to  the  Star  Chamber,  on  all  kinds 
of  accusations,  that  tliey  might  be  sentenced  to  pay  enormous 
fines ;  new  privileges  and  monopolies  were  invented,  and  new 
dignities  created.  Baronets,  who  are  hereditary  knights,  were 
instituted,  and  baronetcies  were  sold  for  one  thousand  pounds  each. 

But  the  monopolies  which  the  king  granted,  in  order  to  raise 
money,  did  not  inflame  the  Commons  so  much  as  the  projected 
marriage  between  the  prince  of  Wales  and  the  infanta  of  Spain. 
James  flattered  himself  that  this  Spanish  match,  to  arrange  which 
he  had  sent  Buckingham  to  the  court  of  Madrid,  would  procure 
the  restitution  of  the  Palatinate  to  the  elector,  who  had  been  driven 
from  his  throne.  But  the  Commons  thought  diflferently.  They, 
as  well  as  the  people  generally,  were  indignant  in  view  of  the 
inactivity  of  the  government  in  not  sending  aid  to  the  distressed 
Protestants  of  Germany ;  and  the  loss  of  the  Palatinate  was  re- 
garded as  a  national  calamity.  They  saw  no  good  which  would 
accrue  from  an  alliance  with  the  enemies  and  persecutors  of  these 
Protestants ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  much  evil.  As  the  constitu- 
tional guardians,  tiierefore,  of  the  public  welfare  and  liberty,  they 
framed  a  remonstrance  to  the  king,  representing  the  overgrown 
power  of  Austria  as  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  Europe,  and 
entreated  his  majesty  to  take  up  arms  against  Spain,  which  was 
allied  with  Austiia,  and  by  whose  wealth  Austrian  armies  were 
supported. 

James  was  inflamed  with  indignation  at  this  remonstrance, 
which  militated  against  all  his  maxims  of  government;  and  he 
forthwith  wrote  a  letter  to  the  speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
commanding  him  to  admonish  the  members  "  not  to  presume  to 
meddle  with  matters  of  state  which  were  beyond  their  capacity,  and 
especially  not  to  touch  on  his  son's  marriage."  The  Commons,  not 
dismayed,  and  conscious  of  strength,  sent  up  a  new  remonstrance, 
in  which  they  afliirmed  that  they  were  entitled  to  interpose  with 
their  counsel  in  all  matters  of  state,  and  that  entire  freedom  of 
speech  was  their  ancient  and  undoubted  right,  transmitted  from 
their  ancestors.  The  king,  in  reply,  told  the  Commons,  that  "  their 
remonstrance  was  more  like  a  denunciation  of  war,  than  an  address 
af  dutiful  subjects,  and  that  their  pretension  to  inquire  into  state 


CHAP.  XII.]  DEATH   OF   JAMES   I.  145 

affairs  was  a  plenipotence  to  which  none  of  their  ancestors,  even 
(hiring  the  weakest  reigns,  had  ever  dared  to  aspire."  He  farthei 
insinuated  that  their  privileges  were  derived  from  royal  favor.  Oc 
this,  the  Commons  framed  another  protest, — that  the  hberties,  fran- 
chises, privileges,  and  jurisdictions  of  parliament  are  the  ancient 
and  undoubted  birthright  of  Englishmen,  and  that  every  member 
has  the  right  of  freedom  of  speech.  This  protest  they  entered 
upon  their  journals,  upon  which  James  lost  all  temper,  ordered  the 
clerk  to  bring  him  the  journals,  erased  the  protestation  with  his 
own  hand,  in  presence  of  the  judges  and  the  council,  and  then 
dissolved  the  parliament. 

Nothing  else  of  note  occurred  in  this  reign,  except  the  pros- 
ecution of  the  Spanish  match,  which  was  so  odious  to  the 
nation  that  Buckingham,  to  preserve  his  popularity,  broke  off  the 
negotiations,  and  by  a  system  of  treachery  and  duplicity  as 
hateful  as  were  his  original  efforts  to  promote  the  match.  War 
with  Spain  was  the  result  of  the  insult  offered  to  the  infanta  and 
the  court.  An  alliance  was  now  made  with  France,  and  Prince 
Charles  married  Henrietta  Maria,  daughter  of  Henry  IV.  The 
Commons  then  granted  abundant  supplies  for  war,  to  recover  the 
Palatinate  ;  and  liberty  of  conscience  was  granted  by  the  monarch, 
on  the  demands  of  Richelieu,  to  the  Catholics  —  so  long  and 
perseveringly  oppressed. 

Shortly  after,  (March  27, 1625,)  King  James  died  at  Theobalds, 
his  favorite  palace,  from  a  disease  produced  by  anxiety,  gluttony, 
and  sweet  wines,  after  a  reign  in  England  of  twenty-two  years ; 
and  his  son,  Charles  I.,  before  the  breath  was  out  of  his  body,  was 
proclaimed  king  in  his  stead. 

The  course  pursued  by  James  I.  was  adopted  by  his  son ;  and,  as 
their  reigns  were  memorable  for  the  same  struggle,  we  shall  con- 
sider them  together  until  revolution  gave  the  victory  to  the  ad- 
vocates of  freedom. 

Charles  I.  was  twenty-five  years  of  age  when  he  began  his 
reign.  In  a  moral  and  social  point  of  view  he  was  a  more  re- 
spectable man  than  his  father,  but  had  the  same  absurd  notions  of 
the  royal  prerogative,  the  same  contempt  of  the  people,  the  same 
dislike  of  constitutional  liberty,  and  the  same  resolution  of  main- 
taining the  absolute  power  of  the  crown,  at  any  cost.  He  was, 
13  .^ 


146  THE    STRUGGLE    OF    CLASSES.  [cHAP.  XII. 

moreover,  perplexed  by  the  same  embarrassments,  was  involved 
in  debt,  had  great  necessities,  and  was  dependent  on  the  House  of 
Commons  for  aid  to  prosecute  his  wars  and  support  the  dignity  of 
the  crown.  But  he  did  not  consider  the  changing  circumstances 
and  spirit  of  the  age,  and  the  hostile  and  turbulent  nature  of  his 
people.  He  increased,  rather  than  diminished,  the  odious  monopo- 
lies which  irritated  the  nation  during  the  reign  of  his  father ;  he 
clung  to  all  the  old  feudal  privileges ;  he  retained  the  detestable 
and  frivolous  Buckingham  as  his  chief  minister ;  and,  when  Buck- 
ingham was  assassinated,  he  chose  others  even  more  tyrannical  and 
unscrupulous ;  he  insisted  on  taxing  the  people  without  their  con- 
sent, threw  contempt  on  parliament,  and  drove  the  nation  to  rebel- 
lion. In  all  his  political  acts  he  was  infatuated,  after  making  every 
allowance  for  the  imperfections  of  human  nature.  A  wiser  man 
would  have  seen  the  rising  storm,  and  might  possibly  have  averted 
it.  But  Charles  never  dreamed  of  it,  until  it  burst  in  all  its  fury 
on  his  devoted  head,  and  consigned  him  to  the  martyr's  grave. 
We  pity  his  fate,  but  lament  still  more  his  blindness.  And  so 
great  was  this  blindness,  that  it  almost  seems  as  if  Providence  had 
marked  him  out  to  be  a  victim  on  the  altar  of  human  progress. 

With  the  reign  of  Charles  commences  unquestionably  the  most 
exciting  period  of  English  history,  and  a  period  to  which  historians 
have  given  more  attention  than  to  any  other  great  historical  era, 
the  French  Revolution  alone  excepted.  The  attempt  to  describe 
the  leading  events  in  this  exciting  age  and  reign  would  be,  in  this 
connection,  absurd ;  and  yet  some  notice  of  them  cannot  be 
avoided. 

For  more  than  ten  centuries,  great  struggles  have  been  going 
on  in  society  between  the  dominant  orders  and  sects.  The  victo- 
ries gained  by  the  oppressed  millions,  over  their  different  masters, 
constitute  what  is  called  the  Progress  of  Society.  Defenders  of 
the  people  have  occasionally  arisen  from  orders  to  which  they  did 
not  belong.  When,  then,  any  great  order  defended  the  cause  of 
the  people  against  the  tyranny  and  selfishness  of  another  order, 
then  the  people  have  advanced  a  step  in  civil  and  social  freedom. 

When  Feudalism  weighed  fearfully  upon  the  people, "  the  clergy 
sought,  on  their  behalf,  a  little  reason,  justice,  and  humanity,  and 
the  poor  man  had  no  other  asylum  than  the  churches,  no  other 


CHAP.  XII.]  RISE    OF   POPULAR    POWER.  147 

protectors  than  the  priests ;  and,  as  the  priests  offered  food  to  the 
moral  nature  of  man,  they  acquired  a  great  ascendency,  and  the 
preponderance  passed  from  the  nobles  to  the  clergy."  By  the  aid 
of  the  church,  royalty  also  rose  above  feudalism,  and  aided  the 
popular  cause. 

The  church,  having  gained  the  ascendency,  sought  then  to 
enslave  the  kings  of  the  earth.  But  royalty,  borrowing  help  from 
humiliated  nobles  and  from  the  people,  became  the  dominant 
power  in  Europe. 

In  these  struggles  between  nobles  and  the  clergy,  and  between 
the  clergy  and  kings,  the  people  had  acquired  political  importance. 
They  had  obtained  a  knowledge  of  their  rights  and  of  their 
strength ;  and  they  were  determined  to  maintain  them.  They 
liked  not  the  tyranny  of  either  nobles,  priests,  or  kings ;  but  they 
bent  all  their  energies  to  suppress  the  power  of  the  latter,  since 
the  two  former  had  been  already  humiliated. 

The  struggle  of  the  people  against  royalty  is  preeminently  the 
genius  of  the  English  Revolution.  It  is  to  be  doubted  whether  any 
king  could  have  resisted  the  storm  of  popular  fury  which  hurled 
Chgirles  from  his  throne.  But  no  king  could  have  managed  worse 
than  he  ;  no  king  could  be  more  unfortunately  and  unpropitiously 
placed ;  and  his  own  imprudence  and  folly  hastened  the  catas- 
trophe. 

The  House  of  Commons,  which  had  acquired  great  strength, 
spirit,  and  popularity  during  the  reign  of  James,  fully  perceived 
the  difficulties  and  necessities  of  Charles,  but  made  no  adequate 
or  generous  effort  to  relieve  him  from  them.  Some  of  the  more 
turbulent  rejoiced  in  them.  They  knew  that  kings,  like  other  men, 
were  selfish,  and  that  it  was  not  natural  for  people  to  part  with  their 
privileges  and  power  without  a  struggle,  even  though  this  power 
was  injurious  to  the  interests  of  society.  In  the  Middle  Ages, 
barons,  bishops,  and  popes  bad  fought  desperately  in  the  struggle 
of  classes ;  and  it  was  only  from  their  necessities  that  either  kings 
or  people  had  obtained  what  they  demanded.  King  Charles,  no 
more  than  Pope  Boniface  VIII. ,  would  surrender,  as  a  boon  to  man, 
without  compulsion,  his  supposed  omnipotence. 

The  king  ascended  his  throne  burdened  by  the  debts  of  hia 
father,  and  by  an  expensive  war,  which  the  Commons  incited,  but 


148     QUARREL  BETWEEN  THE  KING  AND  THE  COMMONS.     [cHAP.  Xi: 

would  not  pay  for.  They  granted  him,  to  meet  his  difficulties 
and  maintain  his  honor,  the  paltry  sum  of  one  hundred  and 
forty  thousand  pounds,  and  the  duties  of  tonnage  and  poundage, 
not  for  life,  as  was  customary,  but  for  a  year.  Nothing  could  be 
more  provoking  to  a  young  king.  Of  course,  the  money  was  soon 
spent,  and  the  king  wanted  more,  and  had  a  right  to  expect  more. 
But,  if  the  Commons  granted  what  the  king  required,  he  would  be 
made  independent  of  them,  and  he  would  rule  tyrannically,  as  the 
kings  of  England  did  before  him.  So  they  resolved  not  to  grant 
necessary  supplies  to  carry  on  the  government,  unless  the  king 
would  part  with  the  prerogatives  of  an  absolute  prince,  and  those 
old  feudal  privileges  which  were  an  abomination  in  the  eyes  of 
the  people.  Charles  was  not  the  man  to  make  such  a  bargain. 
Few  kings,  in  his  age,  would  have  seen  its  necessity.  But  neces- 
sity there  was.  Civil  war  was  inevitable,  without  a  compromise, 
provided  both  parties  were  resolved  on  maintaining  their  ground. 
But  Charles  fancied  that  the  Commons  could  be  browbeaten  and 
intimidated  into  submission  ;  and,  moreover,  in  case  he  was  brought 
into  collision  with  his  subjects,  he  fancied  that  he  was  stronger  than 
they,  and  could  put  down  the  spirit  of  resistance.  In  both  of 
these  suppositions  he  was  wrong.  The  Commons  were  firm,  and 
were  stronger  than  he  was,  because  they  had  the  sympathy  of  the 
people.  They  believed  conscientiously,  especially  the  Puritans, 
that  he  was  wrong ;  that  God  gave  him  no  divine  right  to  enslave 
them,  and  that  they  were  entitled,  by  the  eternal  principles  of  jus- 
tice, and  by  the  spirit  of  the  constitution,  to  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  in  the  highest  sense  of  that  term.  They  believed  that  their 
rights  were  inalienable  and  absolute  ;  that,  among  them,  they 
could  not  be  taxed  without  their  own  consent ;  and  that  their  consti- 
tutional guardians,  the  Commons,  should  be  unrestricted  in  debate. 
These  notions  of  the  people  were  ideas.  On  ideas  all  govern- 
ments rest.  No  throne  could  stand  a  day  unless  the  people  felt 
they  owed  it  their  allegiance.  When  the  main  support  of  the 
throne  of  Charles  was  withdrawn,  the  support  of  popular  ideas, 
and  this  support  given  to  the  House  of  Commons,  at  issue  with  the 
sovereign,  what  could  he  do  ?  AVhat  could  Louis  XVI.  do  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years  afterwards  ?  What  could  Louis  Philippe 
do  in  our  times .?     A  king,  without  the  loyalty  of  the  people,  is 


CHAP.  XII.]  THE   COUNSELLORS    OF   CHARLES.  149 

a  phantom,  a  mockery,  and  a  delusion,  unless  he  have  physical  force 
to  sustain  him ;  and  even  then  armies  will  rebel,  if  they  feel  they 
are  not  bound  to  obey,  and  if  it  is  not  for  their  interest  to  obey. 

Now  Charles  had  neither  loyalty  nor  force  to  hold  him  on  his 
throne.  The  agitations  of  an  age  of  unprecedented  boldness  in 
speculations  destroyed  the  former ;  the  House  of  Commons  would 
not  grant  supplies  to  secure  the  latter.  And  they  would  not  grant 
supplies,  because  they  loved  themselves  and  the  cause  of  the 
people  better  than  they  loved  their  king.  In  short,  it  was  only  by 
his  concessions  that  they  would  supply  his  necessities.  He  would 
not  make  the  concessions,  and  the  contest  soon  ended  in  an  appeal 
to  arms. 

But  Charles  was  not  without  friends,  and  some  of  his  advisers 
were  men  of  sagacity  and  talent.  It  is  true  they  did  not  fully 
appreciate  the  weakness  of  the  king,  or  the  strength  of  his  ene- 
mies ;  but  they  saw  his  distress,  and  tried  to  remove  it.  They,  verj' 
naturally  in  such  an  age,  recommended  violent  courses  —  to  grant 
new  monopolies,  to  extort  fines,  to  exercise  all  his  feudal  privileges, 
to  pawn  the  crown  jewels,  even,  in  order  to  raise  money ;  for 
money,  at  all  events,  he  must  have.  They  advised  him  to  arrest 
turbulent  and  incendiary  members  of  the  Commons,  to  prorogue 
and  dissolve  parliaments,  to  raise  forced  loans,  to  impose  new 
duties,  to  shut  up  ports,  to  levy  fresh  taxes,  and  to  raise  armies 
friendly  to  his  cause.  In  short,  they  recommended  unconstitutional 
measures  —  measures  which  both  they  and  the  king  knew  to  be 
unconstitutional,  but  which  they  justified  on  the  ground  of  neces- 
sity. And  the  king,  in  his  perplexity,  did  what  his  ministers 
advised.  But  every  person  who  was  sent  to  the  Tower,  every  new 
tax,  every  sentence  of  the  Star  Chamber,  every  seizure  of  prop- 
erty, every  arbitrary  command,  every  violation  of  the  liberties  of 
the  people,  raised  up  new  enemies  to  the  king,  and  inflamed  the 
people  with  new  discontents. 

At  first  the  Commons  felt  that  they  could  obtain  what  they 
wanted  —  a  redress  of  grievances,  if  the  king's  favorite  adviser 
and  minister  were  removed.  Besides,  they  all  hated  Buckingham 
—  peers,  commons,  and  people, — and  all  sought  his  downfall.  He 
had  no  friends  among  the  people,  as  Essex  had  in  the  time  of 
Elizabeth.  His  extravagance,  pomp,  and  insolence  disgusted  all 
13* 


150        DEATH    OF   BUCKINGHAM PETITION    OF    RIGHT.     [cHAP.  Xll. 

orders ;  and  his  reign  seemed  to  be  an  insult  to  the  nation.  Even 
the  people  regarded  him  as  an  upstart,  setting  himself  above  the 
old  nobility,  and  enriching  himself  by  royal  domains,  worth  two 
hundred  eighty-four  thousand  three  hundred  and  ninety-five  pounds. 
So  the  Commons  violently  attacked  his  administration,  and  im- 
peached him.  But  he  was  shielded  by  the  king,  and  even  appointed 
to  command  an  expedition  to  relieve  La  Rochelle,  then  besieged 
by  Richelieu.  But  he  was  stabbed  by  a  religious  fanatic,  by  the 
name  of  Felton,  as  he  was  about  to  embark  at  Portsmouth.  His 
body  was  removed  to  London,  and  he  was  buried  with  great  state 
in  Westminster  Abbey,  much  lamented  by  the  king,  who  lost  his 
early  friend,  one  of  the  worst  ministers,  but  not  the  worst  man, 
which  that  age  despised,  (1628.) 

Meanwhile  the  indignant  Commons  persevered  with  their  work. 
They  passed  what  is  called  the  "  Petition  of  Right,"  —  a  string 
of  resolutions  which  asserted  that  no  freeman  ought  to  be  detained 
in  prison,  without  being  brought  to  trial,  and  that  no  taxes  could 
be  lawfully  levied,  without  consent  of  the  Commons  —  the  two 
great  pillars  of  the  English  constitution,  yet  truths  involved  in 
political  difficulty,  especially  in  cases  of  rebellion.  The  personal 
liberty  of  the  subject  is  a  great  point  indeed ;  and  the  act  of 
habeas  corpus^  passed  in  later  times,  is  a  great  step  in  popular 
freedom ;  but,  if  never  to  be  suspended,  no  government  could 
guard  against  conspiracy  in  revolutionary  times. 

The  Petition  of  Right,  however,  obtained  the  king's  assent, 
though  unwillingly,  grudgingly,  and  insincerely  given ;  and  the 
Commons,  gratified  for  once,  voted  to  the  king  supplies. 

But  Charles  had  no  notion  of  keeping  his  word,  and  soon 
resorted  to  unconstitutional  measures,  as  before.  But  he  felt  the 
need  of  able  counsellors.  His  "  dear  Steenie  "  was  dead,  and  he 
knew  not  in  whom  to  repose  confidence. 

The  demon  of  despotism  raised  up  an  agent  in  the  person  of 
Thomas  Wentworth,  a  man  of  wealth,  talents,  energy,  and  indom- 
itable courage ;  a  man  who  had,  in  the  early  part  of  his  career, 
defended  the  cause  of  liberty ;  who  had  even  suffered  imprison- 
ment sooner  than  contribute  to  an  unlawful  loan,  and  in  whom  the 
hopes  of  the  liberal  party  were  placed.  But  he  was  bribed.  His 
patriotism  was  not  equal  to  his  ambition.     Seduced  by  a  peerage, 


CHAP.  XII.]  EARL    OF    STRAFFORD.  151 

and  by  the  love  of  power,  he  went  over  to  the  side  of  the  king, 
and  defended  his  arbitrary  rule  as  zealously  as  he  had  before 
advocated  the  cause  of  constitutional  liberty.  He  was  created 
Viscount  Wentworth,  and  afterwards  earl  of  Strafford  —  the  most 
prominent  man  of  the  royalist  party,  and  the  greatest  traitor  to 
the  cause  of  liberty  which  England  had  ever  known.  His  pic- 
ture, as  painted  by  Vandyke,  and  hung  up  in  the  princely  hall 
of  his  descendant.  Earl  Fitzwilliam,  is  a  faithful  portrait  of 
what  history  represents  him  —  a  cold,  dark,  repulsive,  unscrupu- 
lous tyrant,  with  an  eye  capable  of  reading  the  secrets  of  the  soul, 
a  brow  lowering  with  care  and  thought,  and  a  lip  compressed  with 
determination,  and  twisted  into  contempt  of  mankind.  If  Went- 
worth did  not  love  his  countrymen,  he  loved  to  rule  over  them ; 
and  he  gained  his  end,  and  continued  the  prime  minister  of  abso- 
lutism until  an  insulted  nation  rose  in  their  might,  and  placed  his 
head  upon  the  block. 

Under  the  rule  of  this  minister,  whom  every  one  feared,  the 
Puritans  every  where  fled,  preferring  the  deserts  of  America,  with 
freedom,  to  the  fair  lands  of  England,  with  liberty  trodden  under 
foot.  The  reigns  of  both  James  and  Charles  are  memorable  for  the 
resistance  and  despair  of  this  intrepid  and  religious  sect,  in  which 
were  enrolled  some  of  the  finest  minds  and  most  intelligent  patriots 
of  the  country.  Pym,  Cromwell,  Hazelrig,  and  even  Hampden, 
are  said  to  have  actually  embarked  ;  but  Providence  detained  them 
in  England,  they  having  a  mission  of  blood  to  perform  there.  In 
another  chapter,  the  Puritans,  their  struggles,  and  principles,  will 
be  more  fully  presented ;  and  we  therefore,  in  this  connection, 
abstain  from  further  notice.  It  may,  however,  be  remarked,  that 
they  were  the  most  inflexible  enemies  of  the  king,  and  were  de- 
termined to  give  him  and  his  minister  no  rest  until  all  their  ends 
were  gained.  They  hated  Archbishop  Laud  even  more  intense- 
ly than  they  hated  Wentworth;  and  Laud,  if  possible,  was  a 
greater  foe  to  religious  and  civil  liberty.  Strafford  and  Laud  are 
generally  coupled  together  in  the  description  of  the  abuses  of 
arbitrary  power.  The  churchman,  however,  was  honest  and 
sincere,  only  his  views  were  narrow  and  his  temper  irritable. 
His  vices  were  those  of  the  bigot  —  such  as  disgraced  St.  Domi- 
nic or  Torquemada,  but  faults  which   he    deemed  excellencies. 


188  JOHN   HAMPDEN.  [CHAP.  XII. 

He  was  an  enthusiast  in  high  churchism  and  toryism ;  and  his 
zeal  in  defence  of  royal  prerogative  and  the  divine  rights  of 
bishops  has  won  for  him  the  panegyrics  of  his  friends,  as  well 
as  the  curses  of  his  enemies.  For  Strafford,  too,  there  is  admira- 
tion, but  only  for  his  talents,  his  courage,  his  strength — the 
qualities  which  one  might  see  in  Milton's  Satan,  or  in  Carlyle's 
picture  gallery  of  heroes. 

While  the  king  and  his  minister  were  raising  forced  loans  and 
contributions,  sending  members  of  the  House  of  Commons  to  the 
Tower,  fining,  imprisoning,  and  mutilating  the  Puritans,  a  new 
imposition  called  out  the  energies  of  a  great  patriot  and  a  great 
man,  John  Hapnpden  —  a  fit  antagonist  of  the  haughty  Went- 
worth.     This  new  exaction  was  a  tax  called  ship  money. 

It  was  devised  by  Chief  Justice  Finch  and  Attorney-General 
Noy,  two  subordinate,  but  unscrupulous  tools  of  despotism,  and 
designed  to  extort  money  from  the  inland  counties,  as  well  as  from 
the  cities,  for  furnishing  ships  —  a  demand  that  Elizabeth  did  not 
make,  in  all  her  power,  even  when  threatened  by  the  Spanish 
Armada.  Clarendon  even  admits  that  this  tax  was  not  for  the 
support  of  the  na\y,  "  but  for  a  spring  and  magazine  which 
should  have  no  bottom,  and  for  an  everlasting  supply  on  all 
occasions."  And  this  the  nation  completely  understood,  and 
resolved  desperately  to  resist. 

Hampden,  though  a  wealthy  man,  refused  to  pay  the  share 
assessed  on  him,  which  was  only  twenty  shillings,  deeming  it  an 
illegal  tax.  He  was  proceeded  against  by  the  crown  lawyers. 
Hampden  appealed  to  a  decision  of  the  judges  in  regard  to  the 
legality  of  the  tax,  and  the  king  permitted  the  question  to  be 
settled  by  the  laws.  The  trial  lasted  thirteen  days,  but  ended  in 
the  condemnation  of  Hampden,  who  had  shown  great  moderation, 
as  well  as  courage,  and  had  won  the  favor  of  the  people.  It  was 
shortly  after  this  that  Hampden,  as  some  historians  assert,  resolved 
to  leave  England  with  his  cousin  Oliver  Cromwell.  But  the  king 
prevented  the  ships,  in  which  they  and  other  emigrants  had  em- 
barked, from  sailing.  Hampden  was  reserved  for  new  trials  and 
new  labors. 

About  a  month  after  Hampden's  condemnation,  an  insurrection 
broke  out  in  Scotland,  which  hastened  the  crisis  of  revolution.     It 


CHAP.  XII.]  INSUKRECTION    IN    SCOTLAND.  153 

was  produced  by  the  attempt  of  Archbishop  Laud  to  impose  the 
English  liturgy  on  the  Scottish  nation,  and  supplant  Presbyterian- 
ism  by  Episcopacy.  The  revolutions  in  Scotland,  from  the  time 
of  Knox,  had  been  popular ;  not  produced  by  great  men,  but  by 
the  diffusion  of  great  ideas.  The  people  believed  in  the  spiritual 
independence  of  their  church,  and  not  in  the  supremacy  of  a  king. 
The  instant,  therefore,  that  the  Episcopal  worship  w^as  introduced, 
by  authority,  in  the  cathedral  of  Edinburgh,  there  was  an  insur- 
rection, which  rapidly  spread  through  all  parts  of  the  country. 
An  immense  multitude  came  to  Edinburgh  to  protest  against  the 
innovation,  and  crowded  all  the  houses,  streets,  and  halls  of  the 
city.  The  king  ordered  the  petitioners  home,  without  answer- 
ing their  complaints.  They  obeyed  the  injunction,  but  soon 
returned  in  greater  numbers.  An  organization  of  resistance  was 
made,  and  a  provisional  government  appointed.  All  classes 
joined  the  insurgents,  who,  menaced,  but  united,  at  last  bound 
themselves,  by  a  solemn  league  and  covenant,  not  to  separate  until 
their  rights  and  liberties  were  secured.  A  vast  majority  of  all  the 
population  of  Scotland  —  gentlemen,  clergy,  citizens,  and  laborers, 
men,  women,  and  children  —  assembled  in  the  church,  and  swore 
fealty  to  the  covenant.  Force,  of  course,  was  necessary  to  reduce 
the  rebels,  and  civil  war  commenced  in  Scotland.  But  war  in- 
creased the  necessities  of  the  king,  and  he  was  compelled  to  make 
peace  with  the  insurgent  army.  * 

Eleven  years  had  now  elapsed  since  the  dissolution  of  the  last 
parliament,  during  which  the  king  had  attempted  to  rule  without 
one,  and  had  resorted  to  all  the  expedients  that  the  ingenuity  of 
the  crown  lawyers  could  suggest,  in  order  to  extort  money.  Im- 
posts fallen  into  desuetude,  monopolies  abandoned  by  Elizabeth, 
royal  forests  extended  beyond  the  limits  they  had  in  feudal  times, 
fines  past  all  endurance,  confiscations  without  end,  imprisonments, 
tortures,  and  executions,  —  all  marked  these  eleven  years.  The 
sum  for  fines  alone,  in  this  period,  amounted  to  more  than  two 
hundred  thousand  pounds.  The  forest  of  Rockingham  was  en- 
larged from  six  to  sixty  miles  in  circuit,  and  the  earl  of  Salisbury 
was  fined  twenty  thousand  pounds  for  encroaching  upon  it.  Indi- 
viduals and  companies  had  monopolies  of  salt,  soap,  coals,  iron, 
wine,   'eather,  starch,   feathers,  tobacco,  beer,  distilled   liquors 


M  LONG   PARLIAMENT.  [CHAP.  XIL 

herrings,  butter,  potash,  linen  cloth,  rags,  hops,  gunpowder,  and 
divers  other  articles,  which,  of  course,  deranged  the  whole  trade 
of  the  country.  Prynne  was  fined  ten  thousand  pounds,  and  had 
his  ears  cut  off,  and  his  nose  slit,  for  writing  an  offensive  book ; 
and  his  sufferings  were  not  greater  than  what  divers  others  experi- 
enced for  vindicating  the  cause  of  truth  and  liberty. 

At  last,  the  king's  necessities  compelled  him  to  summon 
another  parliament.  He  had  exhausted  every  expedient  to  raise 
money.  His  army  clamored  for  pay  ;  and  he  was  overburdened 
with  debts. 

On  the  13th  of  April,  1640,  the  new  parliament  met.  It  knew 
Its  strength,  and  was  determined  now,  more  than  ever,  to  exercise 
it  It  immediately  took  the  power  into  its  own  hands,  and  from 
remonstrances  and  petitions  it  proceeded  to  actual  hostilities ;  from 
the  denunciation  of  injustice  and  illegality,  it  proceeded  to  trample 
on  the  constitution  itself.  It  is  true  that  the  members  were  irri- 
tated and  threatened,  and  some  of  their  number  had  been  seized 
and  imprisoned.  It  is  true  that  the  king  continued  his  courses, 
and  was  resolved  on  enforcing  his  measures  by  violence.  The 
struggle  became  one  of  desperation  on  both  sides  —  a  struggle  for 
ascendency — and  not  for  rights. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  House  of  Commons  was  the  impeach- 
ment of  Strafford.  He  had  been  just  summoned  from  Ireland, 
where,  as  lord  lieutenant,  he  had  exercised  almost  regal  power 
and  regal  audacity ;  he  had  been  summoned  by  his  perplexed  and 
desponding  master  to  assist  him  by  his  counsels.  Reluctantly  he 
obeyed,  foreseeing  the  storm.  He  had  scarcely  arrived  in  London 
when  the  intrepid  Pym  accused  him  of  high  treason.  The  Lords 
accepted  the  accusation,  and  the  imperious  minister  was  committed 
to  the  Tower. 

The  impeachment  of  Laud  soon  followed ;  but  he  was  too  sin- 
cere in  his  tyranny  to  understand  why  he  should  be  committed. 
Nor  was  he  feared,  as  Strafford  was,  against  whom  the  vengeance 
of  the  parliament  was  especially  directed.  A  secret  committee, 
invested  with  immense  powers,  was  commissioned  to  scrutinize  his 
whole  life,  and  his  destruction  was  resolved  upon.  On  the  22d  of 
March  his  trial  began,  and  lasted  seventeen  days,  during  which 
time,  unaided,  he  defended  himself  against  thirteen  accusers,  with 


CHAP.  XII.]  REBELLION    OF    IRELAND.  155 

(consummate  ability.  Indeed,  he  had  studied  his  charges  and 
despised  his  adversaries.  Under  ordinary  circumstances,  he 
would  have  been  acquitted,  for  there  was  not  sufficient  evidence 
to  convict  him  of  high  treason ;  but  an  unscrupulous  and  infuri- 
ated body  of  men  were  thirsting  for  his  blood,  and  it  was  proposed 
to  convict  him  by  bill  of  attainder  ;  that  is,  by  act  of  pariiament, 
on  its  own  paramount  authority,  with  or  without  the  law.  The 
bill  passed,  in  spite  of  justice,  in  spite  of  the  eloquence  of  the 
attainted  earl.  He  was  condemned,  and  remanded  to  the 
Tower. 

Had  the  king  been  strong  he  would  have  saved  his  minister ; 
had  he  been  magnanimous,  he  would  have  stood  by  him  to  the  last. 
But  he  had  neither  the  power  to  save  him,  nor  the  will  to  make 
adequate  sacrifices.  He  feebly  interposed,  but  finally  yielded,  and 
gave  his  consent  to  the  execution  of  the  main  agent  of  all  his 
aggressions  on  the  constitution  he  had  sworn  to  maintain.  Straf- 
ford deserved  his  fate,  although  the  manner  of  his  execution  was 
not  according  to  law. 

A  few  months  after  the  execution  of  Strafford,  an  event  occurred 
which  proved  exceedingly  unfortunate  to  the  royal  cause  ;  and  this 
was  the  rebellion  of  Ireland,  and  the  massacre  of  the  Protestant 
population,  caused,  primarily,  by  the  oppressive  government  of 
England,  and  the  harsh  and  severe  measures  of  the  late  lord 
lieutenant.  In  the  course  of  a  few  weeks,  the  English  and  Scottish 
colonies  seemed  almost  unrooted;  one  of  the  most  frightful 
butcheries  was  committed  that  ever  occurred.  The  Protestants 
exaggerated  their  loss ;  but  it  is  probable  that  at  least  fifty  thou- 
sand were  massacred.  The  local  government  of  Dublin  was 
paralyzed.  The  English  nation  was  filled  with  deadly  and  im- 
placable hostility,  not  against  the  Irish  merely,  but  against  the 
Catholics  every  where.  It  was  supposed  that  there  was  a  general 
conspiracy  among  the  Catholics  to  destroy  the  whole  nation ;  and 
it  was  whispered  that  the  queen  herself  had  aided  the  revolted 
Irish.  The  most  vigorous  measures  were  adopted  to  raise  money 
and  troops  for  Ireland.  The  Commons  took  occasion  of  the 
general  spirit  of  discontent  and  insurrection  to  prepare  a  grand 
remonstrance  on  the  evils  of  the  kingdom,  which  were  traced  to 
a  "  coalition  of  Papists,  Arminian  bishops  and  clergymen,  and 


IM  FLIGHT    OF    THE    KING    FROM    LONDON.  [cHAP.  XII. 

evil  courtiers  and  counsellors,"  The  Commons  recited  all  the 
evils  of  the  last  sixteen  years,  and  declared  the  necessity  of  taking 
away  the  root  of  them,  which  was  the  arbitrary  power  of  the  sov- 
ereign. The  king,  in  reply,  told  the  Commons  that  their  remon- 
strance was  unparliamentary ;  that  he  could  not  understand  what 
they  meant  by  a  wicked  party ;  that  bishops  were  entitled  to  their 
votes  in  parliament ;  and  that,  as  to  the  removal  of  evil  counsellors, 
they  must  name  whom  they  were.  The  remonstrance  was  printed 
and  circulated  by  the  Commons,  which  was  of  more  effect  than  an 
army  could  have  been. 

Thus  were  affairs  rapidly  reaching  a  crisis,  when  the  attempt  to 
seize  five  of  the  most  refractory  and  able  members  of  parliament 
consummated  it.  The  members  were  Hollis,  Hazelrig,  Pym, 
Hampden,  and*  Strode ;  and  they  were  accused  of  high  treason. 
This  movement  of  the  king  was  one  of  the  greatest  blunders  and 
one  of  the  most  unconstitutional  acts  he  ever  committed.  The 
Commons  refused  to  surrender  their  members ;  and  then  the  king 
went  down  to  the  house,  with  an  armed  force,  to  seize  them.  But 
Pym  and  others  got  intelligence  of  the  design  of  Charles,  and  had 
time  to  withdraw  before  he  arrived.  "  The  baffled  tyrant  returned 
to  Whitehall  with  his  company  of  bravoes,"  while  the  city  of  Lon- 
don sheltered  Hampden  and  his  friends.  The  shops  were  shut, 
the  streets  were  filled  with  crowds,  and  the  greatest  excitement 
prevailed.  The  friends  of  Charles,  who  were  inclined  to  constitu- 
tional measures,  were  filled  with  shame.  It  was  now  feared  that 
the  king  would  not  respect  his  word  or  the  constitution,  and,  with 
all  his  promises,  was  still  bent  on  tyrannical  courses.  All  classes, 
but  bigoted  royalists,  now  felt  that  something  must  be  done 
promptly,  or  that  their  liberties  would  be  subverted. 

Then  it  was,  and  not  till  then,  that  the  Commons  openly  defied 
him,  while  the  king  remained  in  his  palace,  humbled,  dismayed, 
and  bewildered,  "  feeling,"  says  Clarendon,  "  the  trouble  and 
agony  which  usually  attend  generous  minds  upon  their  having 
committed  errors  ; "  or,  as  Macaulay  says,  "  the  despicable  repent- 
ance which  attends  the  bungling  villain,  who,  having  attempted  to 
commit  a  crime,  finds  that  he  has  only  committed  a  folly." 

In  a  few  days,  the  king  fled  from  Whitehall,  which  he  was  never 
destined  to  see  again  till  he  was  led  through  it  to  the  scaffold.    He 


CHAP.  XII.]  RISE    OF   THE    PUEITANS.  157 

went  into  the  country  to  raise  forces  to  control  the  parliament,  and 
the  parliament  made  vigorous  measures  to  put  itself  and  the  king- 
dom in  a  state  of  resistance.  On  the  23d  of  April,  the  king,  with 
three  hundred  horse,  advanced  to  Hull,  and  were  refused  admis- 
sion by  the  governor.  This  was  tantamount  to  a  declaration  of 
war.  It  was  so  considered.  Thirty-two  Lords,  and  sixty  members 
of  the  Commons  departed  for  York  to  join  the  king.  The  parlia- 
ment decreed  an  army,  and  civil  war  began. 

Before  this  can  be  traced  we  must  consider  the  Puritans,  which 
is  necessary  in  order  fully  to  appreciate  the  Revolution  The 
reign  of  Charles  I.  was  now  virtually  ended,  and  that  of  the  Par- 
liament and  Cromwell  had  begun. 


Dissensions  among  the  Protestants  themselves  did  not  occur  until 
the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  and  were  first  caused  by  difficulties  about 
a  clerical  dress,  which  again  led  to  the  advocacy  of  simpler  forms 
of  worship,  stricter  rules  of  life,  more  definite  forms  of  faith,  and 
more  democratic  principles  of  government,  both  ecclesiastical  and 
civil.  The  first  promoters  of  these  opinions  were  the  foreign 
divines  who  came  from  Geneva,  at  the  invitation  of  Cranmer,  of 
whom  Peter  Martyr,  Martin  Bucer,  John  a  Lasco,  were  the  most 
distinguished.  Some  Englishmen,  also,  who  had  been  travelling 
on  the  continent,  brought  with  them  the  doctrines  of  Calvin. 
Among  these  was  Hooper,  who,  on  being  nominated  to  the  bish- 
opric of  Gloucester,  refused  to  submit  to  the  appointed  form  of 
consecration  and  admission.  He  objected  to  what  he  called  the 
Aaronical  habits  —  the  square  cap,  tippet,  and  surplice,  worn  by 
bishops.  But  dissent  became  more  marked  and  determined  when 
the  exiles  returned  to  England,  on  the  accession  of  Elizabeth,  and 
who  were  for  advancing  the  reformation  according  to  their  own 
standard.  The  queen  and  her  advisers,  generally,  were  content 
with  King  Edward's  liturgy ;  but  the  majority  of  the  exiles 
desired  the  simpler  services  of  Geneva.  The  new  bishops,  most 
of  whom  had  been  their  companions  abroad,  endeavored  to  soften 
them  for  the  present,  declaring  that  they  would  use  all  their  influ- 
ence at  court  to  secure  them  indulgence.  The  queen  herself  con- 
nived at  non-conformity,  until  her  government  was  established, 
14 


158  ORIGINAL    DIFFICULTIES    AND    DIFFERENCES.    [cHAP.  XII. 

but  then  firmly  declared  that  she  had  fixed  her  standard,  and 
insisted  on  her  subjects  conforming  to  it.  The  bishops,  seeing 
this,  changed  their  conduct,  explained  away  their  promises,  and 
became  severe  towards  their  dissenting  brethren. 

The  standard  of  the  queen  was  the  Thirty-Nine  Articles.  She 
admitted  that  the  Scriptures  were  the  sole  rule  of  faith,  but  declared 
that  individuals  must  interpret  Scripture  as  expounded  in  the  arti- 
cles and  formularies  of  the  English  church,  in  violation  of  the 
great  principle  of  Protestantism,  which  even  the  Puritans  them- 
selves did  not  fully  recognize  —  the  right  and  the  duty  of  every 
individual  to  interpret  Scripture  himself,  whether  his  interpretation 
interfered  with  the  Established  Church  or  not. 

The  first  dissenters  did  not  claim  this  right,  but  only  urged  that 
certain  points,  about  which  they  felt  scruples,  should  be  left  as 
matters  indifferent.  On  all  essential  points,  they,  as  well  as 
the  strictest  conformists,  believed  in  the  necessity  of  a  uniformity 
of  public  worship,  and  of  using  the  sword  of  the  magistrate  in 
defence  of  their  doctrines.  The  standard  of  conformity,  accord- 
ing to  the  bishops,  was  the  queen's  supremacy  and  the  laws  of  the 
land ;  according  to  the  Puritans,  the  decrees  of  provincial  and 
national  synods. 

At  first,  many  of  the  Puritans  overcame  their  scruples  so  far  as 
to  comply  with  the  required  oath  and  accept  livings  in  the  Estab- 
lishment. But  they  indulged  in  many  irregularities,  which,  during 
the  first  year  of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  were  winked  at  by  the 
authorities.  "  Some  performed,"  says  an  old  author,  "  divine  ser- 
vice in  the  chancel,  others  in  the  body  of  the  church ;  some  in 
a  seat  made  in  the  church ;  some  in  a  pulpit,  with  their  faces  to 
the  people  ;  some  keeping  precisely  to  the  order  of  the  book ; 
tome  intermix  psalms  in  metre ;  some  say  with  a  surplice,  and 
others  without  one.  The  table  stands  in  the  body  of  the  church 
in  some  places,  in  others  it  stands  in  the  chancel ;  in  some  places 
the  table  stands  altarwise,  distant  from  the  wall  a  yard,  in  others 
in  the  middle  of  the  chancel,  north  and  south.  Some  administer 
the  communion  with  surplice  and  cap,  some  with  a  surplice  alone, 
others  with  none ;  some  with  chalice,  others  with  a  communion 
cup,  others  with  a  common  cup  ;  some  with  unleavened  bread,  and 
some  witli   leavened ;    some   receive   kneeling,  others   standing, 


CHAP.  XII.]    PERSECUTION    DURING   THE    REIGN    OF   ELIZABETH.     159 

others  sitting  ;  some  baptize  in  a  font,  some  in  a  basin  ;  some  sign 
with  the  sign  of  the  cross,  other  sign  not ;  some  minister  with  a 
surplice,  others  without ;  some  with  a  square  cap,  others  with  a 
round  cap  ;  some  with  a  button  cap,  and  some  A^dth  a  hat ;  some 
in  scholar's  clothes,  some  in  common  clothes." 

These  differences  in  public  worship,  which,  by  many,  were  con- 
sidered as  indifferent  matters,  and  by  others  were  unduly  magni- 
fied, seem  to  have  constituted  the  chief  peculiarity  of  the  early 
Puritans.  In  regard  to  the  queen's  supremacy,  the  union  of  church 
and  state,  the  necessity  of  supporting  religion  by  law,  and  articles 
of  theological  belief,  there  was  no  disagreement.  Most  of  the 
non-conformists  were  men  of  learning  and  piety,  and  among  the 
ornaments  of  the  church. 

The  metropolitan  bishop,  at  this  time,  was  Parker,  a  great 
stickler  for  the  forms  of  the  church,  and  very  intolerant  in  all  his 
opinions.  He  and  others  of  the  bishops  had  been  appointed  as 
commissioners  to  investigate  the  causes  of  dissent,  and  to  suspend 
all  who  refused  to  conform  to  the  rubric  of  the  church.  Hence 
arose  the  famous  Court  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Commission,  so  much 
abused  during  the  reigns  of  James  and  Charles. 

Under  the  direction  of  Parker,  great  numbers  were  suspended 
from  their  livings  for  non-conformity,  and  sent  to  wander  in  a  state 
of  destitution.  Among  these  were  some  of  the  most  learned  men 
in  the  church.  They  had  no  means  of  defence  or  livelihood,  and 
resorted  to  the  press  in  order  to  vindicate  their  opinions.  For  this 
they  were  even  more  harshly  dealt  with ;  an  order  was  issued 
from  the  Star  Chamber,  that  no  person  should  print  a  book  against 
the  queen's  injunctions,  upon  the  penalty  of  fines  and  imprison- 
ment;  and  authority  was  given  to  church- wardens  to  search  all 
suspected  places  where  books  might  be  concealed.  Great  multi- 
tudes suffered  in  consequence  of  these  tyrannical  laws. 

But  the  non-conformists  were  further  molested.  They  were 
forbidden  to  assemble  together  to  read  the  Scriptures  and  pray, 
but  were  required  to  attend  regularly  the  churches  of  the  Estab- 
lishment, on  penalty  of  heavy  fines  for  neglect. 

At  length,  worried,  disgusted,  and  irritated,  they  resolved  upon 
settmg  up  the  Genevan  sendee,  and  upon  withdrawing  entirely 
from  the  Church  of  England.   The  separation,  once  made,  (1566,) 


160  ARCHBISHOPS   GRINDAL    AND   WHITGIFT.         [cHAP.  XI.. 

became  wider  and  wider,  and  the  Puritans  soon  after  opposed  the 
claims  of  bishops  as  a  superior  order  of  the  clergy.  They  were 
opposed  to  the  temporal  dignities  annexed  to  tlie  episcopal  office  ; 
to  the  titles  and  office  of  archdeacons,  deans,  and  chapters  ;  to  the 
jurisdiction  of  spiritual  courts ;  to  the  promiscuous  access  of  all 
persons  to  the  communion ;  to  the  liturgy ;  to  the  prohibition,  in 
the  public  service  of  prayer,  by  the  clergyman  himself;  to  the  use 
of  godfathers  and  godmothers ;  to  the  custom  of  confirmation  ;  to 
the  cathedral  worship  and  organs ;  to  pluralities  and  non-residency ; 
to  the  observance  of  Lent  and  of  the  holy  days ;  and  to  the  ap- 
pointment of  ministers  by  the  crown,  bishops,  or  lay  patrons,  instead 
of  election  by  the  people. 

The  schism  was  now  complete,  and  had  grown  out  of  such  small 
differences  as  refusing  to  bow  at  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  to  use 
the  cross  in  baptism. 

In  our  times,  the  Puritans  would  have  been  permitted  to  worship 
God  in  their  own  way,  but  they  were  not  thus  allowed  in  the  time 
of  Elizabeth.  Religious  toleration  was  not  then  understood  or 
practised ;  and  it  was  the  fault  of  the  age,  since  the  Puritans  them- 
selves, when  they  obtained  the  power,  persecuted  with  great 
severity  the  Quakers  and  the  Catholics.  But,  during  the  whole 
reign  of  Elizabeth,  especially  the  life  of  Archbishop  Parker,  they 
were  in  a  minority,  and  suffered  —  as  minorities  ever  have  suffered 
—  all  the  miseries  which  unreasonable  majorities  could  inflict. 

Archbishop  Grindal,  who  succeeded  Parker  in  1575,  recom- 
mended milder  measures  to  the  queen ;  but  she  had  no  charity 
for  those  who  denied  the  supremacy  of  her  royal  conscience. 

Grindal  was  succeeded,  in  1583,  by  Dr.  Whitgift,  the  antagonist 
of  the  learned  Dr.  Cartwright,  and  he  proved  a  ruler  of  the  church 
according  to  her  majesty's  mind.  He  commenced  a  most  violent 
crusade  against  the  non-conformists,  and  was  so  harsh,  cruel,  and 
unreasonable,  that  Cecil  —  Lord  Burleigh — was  obliged  to  remon- 
strate, being  much  more  enlightened  than  the  prelate.  "  I  have 
read  over,"  said  he,  "  your  twenty-four  articles,  and  I  find  them 
so  curiously  penned,  that  I  think  that  the  Spanish  Inquisition  used 
not  so  many  questions  to  entrap  the  priests."  Nevertheless, 
fines,  imprisonment,  and  the  gibbet  continued  to  do  their  work, 
in  the  vain  attempt  to  put  down  opinions,  till  within  four  or  five 


CHAP.  XII.]  PERSECUTION    UNDER   JAMES.  161 

years  of  the  queen's  death,  when  there  was  a  cessation  of  perse- 
cution. 

But  the  Scottish  Solomon,  as  James  was  called,  renewed  the 
severity  which  Elizabeth  found  it  wise  to  remit.  Hitherto,  the 
Puritans  had  been  chiefly  Presbyterians ;  but  now  the  Independents 
arose,  who  carried  their  views  still  further,  even  to  wildness  and 
radicalism.  They  were  stricter  Calvinists,  and  inclined  to  repub- 
lican views  of  civil  government.  Consequently,  they  were  still 
more  odious  than  were  the  Presbyterians  to  an  arbitrary  govern- 
ment. They  were  now  persecuted  for  their  doctrines  of  faith, 
as  well  as  for  their  forms  of  worship.  The  Church  of  Eng- 
land retained  the  thirty-nine  articles ;  but  many  of  her  leading 
clergy  sympathized  with  the  views  of  Arminius,  and  among 
them  was  the  primate  himself.  So  strictly  were  Arminian  doc- 
trines cherished,  that  no  person  under  a  dean  was  permitted  to 
discourse  on  predestination,  election,  reprobation,  efficacy,  or  uni- 
versality of  God's  grace.  And  the  king  himself  would  hear  no 
doctrines  preached,  except  those  he  had  condemned  at  the  synod 
of  Dort.  But  this  act  was  aimed  against  the  Puritans,  who,  of 
all  parties,  were  fond  of  preaching  on  what  was  called  "  the  Five 
Points  of  Calvinism."  But  they  paid  dearly  for  their  independ- 
ence. James  absolutely  detested  them,  regarded  them  as  a  sect 
insufferable  in  a  well-governed  commonwealth,  and  punished  them 
with  the  greatest  severity.  Their  theological  doctrines,  their 
notions  of  church  government,  and,  above  all,  their  spirit  of  demo- 
cratic Uberty,  were  odious  and  repulsive.  Archbishop  Bancroft, 
who  succeeded  Whitgift  in  1604,  went  beyond  all  his  predecessors 
in  bigotry,  but  had  not  their  commanding  intellects.  His  measures 
were  so  injudicious,  so  vexatious,  so  annoying,  so  severe,  and  so 
cruel,  that  the  Puritans  became,  if  possible,  still  more  estranged. 
With  the  popular  discontents,  and  with  the  progress  of  persecution, 
their  numbers  increased,  both  in  Scotland  and  England.  With 
the  increase  of  Puritanism  was  also  a  corresponding  change  in  the 
Church  of  England,  since  ceremony  and  forms  increased  almost 
to  a  revival  of  Catholicism.  And  this  reaction  towards  Rome, 
favored  by  the  court,  incensed  still  more  the  Puritans,  and  led  to 
language  unnecessarily  violent  and  abusive  on  their  side.  Their 
controversial  tracts  were  pervaded  with  a  spirit  of  bitterness  and 
14*  M 


162  PURITANS   IN   EXILE.  [cHAP.    Xll. 

treason  which,  m  the  opinion  of  James,  fully  justified  the  impris- 
onments, fines,  and  mutilations  which  his  minister  inflicted. 
The  Puritans,  in  despair,  fled  to  Holland,  and  from  thence  to  New 
England,  to  establish,  amid  its  barren  hills  and  desolate  forests, 
that  worship  which  alone  they  thought  would  be  acceptable  to 
God.  Persecution  elevated  them,  and  none  can  deny  that  they 
were  characterized  by  moral  virtues  and  a  spirit  of  liberty  which 
no  people  ever  before  or  since  exhibited.  Almost  their  only  fault 
was  intolerance  respecting  the  opinions  arid  pleasures  of  many 
good  people  who  did  not  join  their  ranks. 

James's  death  did  not  remit  their  sufferings  ;  but,  by  this  time, 
they  had  so  multiplied  that  they  became  a  party  too  formidable  to 
be  crushed.  The  High  Commission  Court  and  the  Star  Chamber 
still  filled  the  prisons  and  pillories  with  victims  ;  but  every  sentence 
of  these  courts  fanned  the  flame  of  discontent,  and  hastened  the 
catastrophe  which  was  rapidly  approaching.  The  volcano,  over 
whose  fearful  brink  the  royal  family  and  the  haughty  hierarchy 
were  standing,  was  now  sending  forth  those  frightful  noises  which 
indicated  approaching  convulsions. 

During  the  years  that  Charles  dispensed  with  the  parliaments, 
when  Laud  was  both  minister  and  archbishop,  the  persecution 
reached  its  height,  and  also  popular  discontent.  During  this 
period,  the  greatest  emigration  was  made  to  New  England,  and 
even  Hampden  and  Cromwell  contemplated  joining  their  brethren 
in  America.  Arianism  and  Popery  advanced  with  Puritanism, 
and  all  parties  prepared  for  the  approaching  contest.  The  advo- 
cates of  royal  usurpation  became  more  unreasonable,  the  friends 
of  popular  liberty  became  more  violent.  Those  who  had  the 
power,  exercised  it  without  reflection.  The  history  of  the  times 
is  simply  this  —  despotism  striving  to  'put  Puritanism  and  liberty 
beneath  its  feet,  and  Puritanism  aiming  to  subvert  the  crown. 

But  the  greatest  commotions  were  in  Scotland,  where  the  people 
were  generally  Presbyterians  ;  and  it  was  the  zeal  of  Archbishop 
Laud  in  suppressing  these,  and  attempting  to  change  the  religion 
of  the  land,  which  precipitated  the  ruin  of  Charles  I. 

Ever  since  the  time  of  Knox,  Scotland  had  been  the  scene  of 
riolent  religious  animosities.  In  that  country,  the  reformation, 
from  the  first,  had  been  a  popular  movement.     It  was  so  impetu- 


CHAP.  XII.]  TROUBLES    IN    SCOTLAND-  163 

ous,  and  decided  under  the  guidance  of  the  uncompromising  Knox, 
that  even  before  the  dethronement  of  Mary,  it  was  complete.  In 
the  year  1592,  through  the  influence  of  Andrew  Melville,  the 
Presbyterian  government  was  fairly  established,  and  King  James 
is  said  to  have  thus  expressed  himself :  '.'  I  praise  God  that  I  was 
born  in  the  time  of  the  light  of  the  gospel,  and  in  such  a  place  as 
to  be  king  of  the  purest  kirk  in  the  world."  The  Church  of  Scot- 
land, however,  had  severe  struggles  from  the  period  of  its  institu- 
tion, 1560,  to  the  year  1584,  when  the  papal  influence  was  finally 
destroyed  by  the  expulsion  of  the  earl  of  Arran  from  the  councils 
of  the  young  king.  Nor  did  these  struggles  end  even  there. 
James,  perceiving  that  Episcopacy  was  much  more  consonant  with 
monarchy  than  Presbyterianism,  attempted  to  remodel  the  Scottish 
church  on  the  English  basis,  which  attempt  resulted  in  discontent 
and  rebellion.  James,  however,  succeeded  in  reducing  to  contempt 
the  general  assemblies  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  in  confirm- 
ing Archbishop  Spotswood  in  the  chief  administration  of  eccle- 
siastical affairs,  which,  it  must  be  confessed,  were  regulated  with 
great  prudence  and  moderation. 

When  Charles  came  to  the  throne,  he  complained  of  the  laxity 
of  the  Scotch  primate,  and  sent  him  a  set  of  rules  by  which 
he  was  to  regulate  his  conduct.  Charles  also  added  new  dignities 
to  his  see,  and  ordained  that  he,  as  primate,  should  take  prece- 
dence over  all  the  temporal  lords,  which  irritated  the  proud  Scotch 
nobility.  He  moreover  contemplated  the  recovery  of  tithes^  and 
church  lands  for  the  benefit  of  the  Episcopal  government,  and  the 
imposition  of  a  liturgy  on  the  Scotch  nation,  a  great  majority  of 
whom  were  Presbyterians,  This  was  the  darling  scheme  of  Laud, 
who  believed  that  there  could  scarcely  be  salvation  out  of  his 
church,  and  which  church  he  strove  to  make  as  much  like  the 
Cathohc  as  possible,  and  yet  maintain  independence  of  the  pope. 
But  nothing  was  absolutely  done  towards  changing  the  religion  of 
Scotland  until  Charles  came  down  to  Edinburgh  (1633)  to  be 
crowned,  when  a  liturgy  was  prepared  for  the  Scotch  nation,  sub- 
jected to  the  revision  of  Laud,  but  which  was  not  submitted  to, 
or  seen  by,  the  General  Assembly,  or  any  convocation  of  ministers 
in  Scotland.  Nothing  could  be  more  ill  timed  or  ill  judged  than 
this  conflict  with  the  religious  prejudices  of  a  people  zealously 


y 


164  TROUBLES    IN    SCOTLAND.  [cHAP.  XII. 

attached  to  their  own  forms  of  worship.  The  clergy  united  with 
the  aristocracy,  and  both  with  the  people,  in  denouncing  the  con- 
duct of  the  king  and  his  ministers  as  tyrannical  and  unjust.  The 
canons,  especially,  which  Laud  had  prepared,  were,  in  the  eyes 
of  the  Scotch,  puerile  and  superstitious ;  they  could  not  conceive 
why  a  Protestant  prelate  should  make  so  much  account  of  the 
position  of  the  font  or  of  the  communion  table,  turned  into  an 
altar.  Indeed,  his  liturgy  was  not  much  other  than  an  English 
translation  of  the  Roman  Missal,  and  excited  the  detestation  of  all 
classes.  Yet  it  was  resolved  to  introduce  it  into  the  churches,  and 
the  day  was  fixed  for  its  introduction,  which  was  Easter  Sunday, 
1637.  But  such  a  ferment  was  produced,  that  the  experiment  was 
put  off  to  Sunday,  23d  of  July.  On  that  day,  the  archbishops  and 
bishops,  lords  of  session,  and  magistrates  were  all  present,  by  com- 
mand, in  the  Church  of  St.  Giles.  But  no  sooner  had  the  dean 
opened  the  service  book,  and  begun  to  read  out  of  it,  than  the 
people,  who  had  assembled  in  great  crowds,  began  to  fill  the 
church  with  uproar.  The  bishop  of  Edinburgh,  who  was  to 
preach,  stepped  into  the  pulpit,  and  attempted  to  appease  the 
tumultuous  people.  But  this  increased  the  tumult,  when  an  old 
woman,  seizing  a  stool,  hurled  it  at  the  bishop's  head.  Sticks, 
stones,  and  dirt  followed  the  stool,  with  loud  cries  of  "  Down  with 
the  priest  of  Baal !  "  "  A  pape,  a  pape  !  "  "  Antichrist !  "  "  Pull 
him  down ! "  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  insurrection,  which 
spread  from  city  to  village,  until  all  Scotland  was  in  arms,  and 
Episcopacy,  as  an  established  religion,  was  subverted.  In  Febru- 
ary, 1638,  the  covenant  was  drawn  up  in  Edinburgh,  and  was  sub- 
scribed to  by  all  classes,  in  all  parts  of  Scotland ;  and,  in  Novem- 
ber, the  General  Assembly  met  in  Glasgow,  the  first  that  had  been 
called  for  twenty  years,  and  Presbyterianism  was  reestablished  in 
the  kingdom,  if  not  legally,  yet  in  reality. 

From  the  day  on  which  the  Convocation  opened,  until  the 
conquest  of  the  country  by  Cromwell,  the  Kirk  reigned  supreme, 
there  being  no  power  in  the  government,  or  in  the  country,  able 
or  disposed  to  resist  or  question  its  authority.  This  was  the  golden 
age  of  Presbyterianism,  when  the  clergy  enjoyed  autocratic  power 
—  a  sort  of  Druidical  ascendency  over  the  minds  and  consciences 
of  the  people,  in  affairs  temporal  as  well  as  spiritual. 


CHAP.  XII.]        PECULIARITIES    OF   PURITANISM    IN    ENGLAND.  165 

Puritanism  did  not  pervade  the  English,  as  it  did  the  Scotch 
mind,  although  it  soon  obtained  an  ascendency.  Most  of  the  great 
political  chieftains  who  controlled  the  House  of  Commons,  and 
who  clamored  for  the  death  of  Strafford  and  Laud,  were  Puritans. 
But  they  were  not  all  Presbyterians.  In  England,  after  the  flight 
of  the  king  from  Whitehall,  the  Independents  attracted  notice, 
and  eventually  seized  the  reins  of  government.  Cromwell  was  an 
Independent. 

The  difference  between  these  two  sects  was  chiefly  in  their  views 
about  government,  civil  and  ecclesiastical.  Both  Presbyterians 
and  Independents  were  rigid  Calvinists,  practised  a  severe  morality, 
were  opposed  to  gay  amusements,  disliked  organs  and  ceremonies, 
strictly  observed  the  Sabbath,  and  attached  great  importance  to 
the  close  observance  of  the  Mosaic  ritual.  The  Presbyterians  were 
not  behind  the  Episcopalians  in  hatred  of  sects  and  a  free  press. 
They  had  their  model  of  worship,  and  declared  it  to  be  of  divine 
origin.  They  looked  upon  schism  as  the  parent  of  licentiousness, 
insisted  on  entire  uniformity,  maintained  the  divine  right  of  the 
clergy  to  the  management  of  ecclesiastical  affairs,  and  claimed 
the  sword  of  the  magistrate  to  punish  schismatics  and  heretics. 
They  believed  in  the  union  of  church  and  state,  but  would  give 
the  clergy  the  ascendency  they  possessed  in  the  Middle  Ages.. 
They  did  not  desire  the  entire  prostration  of  royal  authority,  but 
only  aimed  to  limit  and  curtail  it. 

The  Independents  wished  a  total  disruption  of  church  and  state, 
and  disliked  synods  almost  as  much  as  they  did  bishops.  They 
believed  that  every  congregation  was  a  distinct  church,  and  had 
a  right  to  elect  the  pastor.  They  preferred  the  greatest  variety 
of  sects  to  the  ascendency  of  any  one,  by  means  of  the  civil  sword. 
They  rejected  all  spiritual  courts,  and  claimed  the  right  of  each 
church  to  reject,  punish,  or  receive  members.  In  politics,  they 
wished  a  total  overthrow  of  the  government  —  monarchy,  aristoc- 
racy, and  prelacy  ;  and  were  averse  to  any  peace  which  did  not 
secure  complete  toleration  of  opinions,  and  the  complete  subversion 
of  the  established  order  of  things. 

Between  the  Presbyterians  and  the  Independents,  therefore,  there 
could  not  be  any  lasting  sympathy  or  alliance.  They  only  united 
to  crush  the  common  foe  ;  and,  when  Charles  was  beheaded,  and 


166  *^CONFLICTS   AMONG    THE    PURITANS.  [cHAP.  XII. 

Cromwell  installed  in  power,  they  turned  their  arms  against  each 
other. 

The  great  religious,  contest,  after  the  rise  of  Cromwell,  was  not 
between  the  Puritans  and  the  Episcopalians,  but  between  the 
different  sects  of  Puritans  themselves.  At  first,  the  Independents 
harmonized  with  the  Presbyterians.  Their  theological  and  ethical 
opinions  were  the  same,  and  both  cordially  hated  and  despised  the 
government  of  the  Stuarts.  But  when  the  Presbyterians  obtained 
the  ascendency,  the  Independents  were  grieved  and  enraged  to 
discover  that  religious  toleration  was  stigmatized  as  the  parent  of 
all  heresy  and  schism.  While  in  power,  the  Presbyterians  shackled 
the  press,  and  their  intolerance  brought  out  John  Milton's  famous 
tract  on  the  liberty  of  unlicensed  printing — one  of  the  most  masterly 
arguments  which  the  advocates  of  freedom  have  ever  made.  The 
idea  that  any  dominant  religious  sect  should  be  incorporated  with 
the  political  power,  was  the  fatal  error  of  Presbyterianism,  and 
raised  up  enemies  against  it,  after  the  royal  power  was  suppressed. 
Cromwell  was  persuaded  that  the  cause  of  religious  liberty  would 
be  lost  unless  Presbyterianism,  as  well  as  Episcopacy,  was  discon- 
nected with  the  state  ;  and  hence  one  great  reason  of  his  assuming 
the  dictatorship.  And  he  granted  a  more  extended  toleration  than 
had  before  been  known  in  England,  although  it  was  not  perfect. 
The  Catholics  and  the  Quakers  were  not  partakers  of  the  boon 
which  he  gave  to  his  country ;  so  hard  is  it  for  men  to  learn  the 
rights  of  others,  when  they  have  power  in  their  own  hands. 

The  Restoration  was  a  victory  over  both  the  Independents  and 
the  general  swarm  .  of  sectaries  which  an  age  of  unparalleled 
religious  excitement  had  produced.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  of 
the  intensity  of  the  passions  which  inflamed  all  parties  of  religious 
disputants.  But  if  the  Puritan  contest  developed  fanatical  zeal, 
it  also  brought  out  the  highest  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  which 
any  age  has  witnessed.  With  all  the  faults  and  weaknesses  of  the 
Puritans,  there  never  lived  a  better  class  of  men,  —  men  of  more 
elevated  piety,  more  enlarged  views,  or  greater  disinterestedness, 
patriotism,  and  moral  worth.  They  made  sacrifices  which  our  age 
can  scarcely  appreciate,  and  had  difficulties  to  contend  with  which 
were  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  reform.  They  made  blunders 
which  approximated  to  crimes,  but  they  made  them  in  their  inex- 


CHAP.  XII.]  CHARACTER    OF   THE   PURITANS.     *^  167 

perience  and  zeal  to  promote  the  cause  of  religion  and  liberty. 
They  were  conscientious  men  —  men  who  acted  from  the  fear  of 
God,  and  with  a  view  to  promote  the  highest  welfare  of  future 
generations.  They  launched  their  bark  boldly  upon  an  unknown 
sea,  and  heroically  endured  its  dangers  ajid  sufferings,  with  a  view 
of  conferring  immortal  blessings  on  their  children  and  country. 
More  prudent  men  would  have  avoided  the  perils  of  an  unknown 
navigation ;  but,  by  such  men,  a  great  experiment  for  humanity 
would  not  have  been  tried.  It  may  have  failed,  but  the  world  has 
learned  immortal  wisdom  from  the  failure.  But  the  Puritans  were 
not  mere  adventurers  or  martyrs.  They  have  done  something  of 
lasting  benefit  to  mankind,  and  they  have  done  this  by  the  power 
of  faith,  and  by  loyalty  to  their  consciences,  perverted  as  they 
were  in  some  respects.  The  Puritans  were  not  agreeable  com- 
panions to  the  idle,  luxurious,  or  frivolous ;  they  were  rigid  even 
to  austerity;  their  expressions  degenerated  into  cant,  and  they 
were  hostile  to  many  innocent  amusements.  But  these  were  pecu- 
liarities which  furnished  subjects  of  ridicule  merely,  and  did  not 
disgrace  or  degrade  them.  These  were  a  small  offset  to  their 
moral  wisdom,  their  firm  endurance,  their  elevation  of  sentiment, 
their  love  of  liberty,  and  their  fear  of  God.  Such  are  the  men 
whom  Providence  ordains  to  give  impulse  to  society,  and  effect 
great  and  useful  reforms. 


We  now  return  to  consider  the  changes  which  they  attempted 
in  government.  The  civil  war,  of  which  Cromwell  was  the  hero, 
now  claims  our  attention. 

The  refusal  of  the  governor  of  Hull  to  admit  the  king  was  vir- 
tually the  declaration  of  war,  for  which  both  parties  had  vigorously 
prepared. 

The  standard  of  the  king  was  first  raised  in  Nottingham,  while 
the  head-quarters  of  the  parliamentarians  were  in  London.  The 
first  action  of  any  note  was  the  battle  of  Edge  Hill,  (October  23, 
1642,)  but  was  undecisive.  Indeed,  both  parties  hesitated  to  plunge 
into  desperate  war,  at  least  until,  by  skirmishings  and  military 
manoeuvres,  they  were  better  prepared  for  it. 

The  forces  of  the  belligerents,  at  this  period,  were  nearly  equal, 


166  -*•  JOHN    HAMPDEN.  [CHAP.  XII. 

but  the  parliamentarians  had  the  ablest  leaders.  It  was  the  mis- 
fortune of  the  king  to  have  no  man  of  commanding  talents,  as  his 
counsellor,  after  the  arrest  of  Strafford.  Hyde,  afterwards  lord 
chancellor,  and  Earl  of  Clarendon,  was  the  ablest  of  the  royalist 
party.  Falkland  and  Culpeper  were  also  eminent  men ;  but  neither 
of  them  was  the  equal  of  Pym  or  Hampden. 

The  latter  was  doubtless  the  ablest  man  in  England  at  this  time, 
and  the  only  one  who  could  have  saved  it  from  the  evils  which 
afterwards  afflicted  it.  On  him  the  hopes  and  affections  of  the 
nation  centred.  He  was  great  in  council  and  great  in  debate. 
He  was  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  House  of  Commons.  He 
was  eloquent,  honest,  unwearied,  sagacious,  and  prudent.  "  Never 
had  a  man  inspired  a  nation  with  greater  confidence :  the  more 
moderate  had  faith  in  his  wisdom ;  the  more  violent  in  his  devoted 
patriotism  ;  the  more  honest  in  his  uprightness  ;  the  more  intriguing 
in  his  talents."  He  spared  neither  his  fortune  nor  his  person,  as 
soon  as  hostilities  were  inevitable.  He  subscribed  two  thousand 
pounds  to  the  public  cause,  took  a  colonel's  commission,  and  raised 
a  regiment  of  infantry,  so  well  known  during  the  war  for  its  green 
uniform,  and  the  celebrated  motto  of  its  intrepid  leader,  — "  Ves- 
tigia nulla  retrorsum.''''  He  possessed  the  talents  of  a  great 
statesman  and  a  great  general,  and  all  the  united  qualities  requisite 
for  the  crisis  in  which  he  appeared  — "  the  valor  and  energy  of 
Cromwell,  the  discernment  and  eloquence  of  Vane,  the  humanity 
and  moderation  of  Manchester,  the  stem  integrity  of  Hale,  the 
ardent  public  spirit  of  Sydney.  Others  could  conquer  ;  he  alone 
could  reconcile.  A  heart  as  bold  as  his  brought  up  the  cuirassiers 
who  turned  the  tide  of  battle  on  Marston  Moor.  As  skilful  an  eye 
as  his  watched  the  Scottish  army  descending  from  the  heights  over 
Dunbar.  But  it  was  when,  to  the  sullen  tyranny  of  Laud  and 
Charles,  had  succeeded  the  fierce  conflict  of  sects  and  factions, 
ambitious  of  ascendency,  and  burning  for  revenge ;  it  was  when 
the  vices  and  ignorance,  which  the  old  tyranny  had  generated, 
threatened  the  new  freedom  with  destruction,  that  England  missed 
that  sobriety,  that  self-command,  that  perfect  soundness  of  judg- 
ment, that  perfect  rectitude  of  intention,  to  which  the  history  of 
revolutions  furnishes  no  parallel,  or  furnishes  a  parallel  in  Wash- 
ington alone."  * 

♦  Macaulay. 


CHAP.  XII.]  OLIVER    CROMWELL.  169 

This  great  man  was  removed  by  Provideitee  from  the  scene  of 
violence  and  faction  at  an  early  period  of  the  contest.  He  was 
mortally  wounded  in  one  of  those  skirmishes  in  which  the  detach- 
ments of  both  armies  had  thus  far  engaged,  and  which  made 
the  campaigns  of  1642-3  so  undecided,  so  tedious,  and  so  irri- 
tating —  campaigns  in  which  the  generals  of  both  armies  reaped 
no  laurels,  and  which  created  the  necessity  for  a  greater  genius 
than  had  thus  far  appeared.  That  genius  was  Oliver  Cromwell. 
At  the  battle  of  Edge  Hill  he  was  only  captain  of  a  troop  of  horse  ; 
and  at  the  death  of  his  cousin  Hampden,  he  was  only  colonel. 
He  was  indeed  a  member  of  the  Long  Parliament,  as  was  Hamp- 
den, and  had  secured  the  attention  of  the  members  in  spite  of  his 
slovenly  appearance  and  his  incoherent,  though  earnest  speeches. 
Under  his  rough  and  clownish  exterior,  his  talents  were  not  per- 
ceived, except  by  two  or  three  penetrating  intellects ;  but  they 
were  shortly  to  appear,  and  to  be  developed,  not  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  but  on  the  field  of  battle.  The  rise  of  Oliver  Crom- 
well can  scarcely  be  dated  until  the  death  of  John  Hampden ;  nor 
were  the  eyes  of  the  nation  fixed  on  him,  as  their  deliverer,  until 
some  time  after.  The  Earl  of  Essex  was  still  the  commander  of 
the  forces,  while  the  Earl  of  Bedford,  Lord  Manchester,  Lord 
Fairfax,  Skippon,  Sir  William  Waller,  Leslie,  and  others  held  high 
posts.  Cromwell  was  still  a  subordinate  ;  but  genius  breaks  through 
all  obstacles,  and  overleaps  all  boundaries.  The  time  had  not  yet 
come  for  the  exercise  of  his  great  military  talents.  The  period  of 
negotiation  had  not  fully  passed,  and  the  king,  at  his  head-quarters 
at  Oxford,  "  that  seat  of  pure,  unspotted  loyalty,"  still  hoped  to 
amuse  the  parliament,  gain  time,  and  finally  overwhelm  its  forces. 
Prince  Rupert — brave,  ardent,  reckless,  unprincipled — still  ravaged 
the  country  without  reaping  any  permanent  advantage.  The  par- 
liament was  perplexed  and  the  people  were  disappointed.  On  the 
whole,  the  king's  forces  were  in  the  ascendant,  and  were  augment- 
ing ;  while  plots  and  insurrections  were  constantly  revealing  to 
the  parliamentarians  the  dangers  which  threatened  them.  Had 
not  an  able  leader,  at  this  crisis,  appeared  among  the  insurgents, 
or  had  an  able  general  been  given  to  Charles,  it  is  probable  that 
the  king  would  have  secured  his  ends ;  for  popular  enthusiasm, 
15 


170  THE   KING  AT   OXFORD.  [cHAP.  XII. 

without  the  organization  which  a  master  spirit  alone  can  form, 
soon  bums  itself  out. 

The  state  of  the  contending  parties,  from  the  battle  of  Edge 
Hill,  for  nearly  two  years,  was  very  singular  and  very  complicated. 
The  king  remained  at  Oxford,  distracted  by  opposing  counsels, 
and  perplexed  by  various  difficulties.  The  head-quarters  of  his 
enemies,  at  London,  were  no  less  the  seat  of  intrigues  and  party 
animosities.  The  Presbyterians  were  the  most  powerful,  and  were 
nearly  as  distrustful  of  the  Independents  as  they  were  of  the  king, 
and  feared  a  victory  over  the  king  nearly  as  much  as  they  did  a 
defeat  by  him,  and  the  dissensions  among  the  various  sects  and 
leaders  were  no  secret  in  the  royalist  camp,  and  doubtless  encour- 
aged Charles  in  his  endless  intrigues  and  dissimulations.  But  he 
was  not  equal  to  decisive  measures,  and  without  them,  in  revolution- 
ary times,  any  party  must  be  ruined.  While  he  was  meditating 
and  scheming,  he  heard  the  news  of  an  alliance  between  Scotland 
and  the  parliament,  in  which  the  Presbyterian  interest  was  in  the 
ascendency.  This  was  the  first  great  blow  he  received  since  the 
commencement  of  the  war,  and  the  united  forces  of  his  enemies 
now  resolved  upon  more  vigorous  measures. 

At  the  opening  of  the  campaign,  the  parliament  had  five  armies 
—  that  of  the  Scots,  of  twenty-one  thousand  ;  that  of  Essex,  ten 
thousand  five  hundred  ;  that  of  Waller,  five  thousand  one  hundred  ; 
that  of  Manchester,  fourteen  thousand  ;  and  that  of  Fairfax,  five 
thousand  five  hundred — in  all,  about  fifty-six  thousand  men,  of 
whom  the  committee  of  the  two  kingdoms  had  the  entire  disposal. 
In  May,  Essex  and  Waller  invested  Oxford,  while  Fairfax,  Manches- 
ter, and  the  Scots  met  under  the  walls  of  York.  Thus  these  two 
great  royalist  cities  were  attacked  at  once  by  all  the  forces  of  par- 
liament. Charles,  invested  by  a  stronger  force,  and  being  deprived 
of  the  assistance  of  the  princes,  Rupert  and  Maurice,  his  nephews, 
who  were  absent  on  their  marauding  expeditions,  ecaped  from  Ox- 
ford, and  proceeded  towards  Exeter.  In  the  mean  time,  he  ordered 
Prince  Rupert  to  advance  to  the  relief  of  York,  which  was  defended 
by  the  marquis  of  Newcastle.  The  united  royalist  army  now 
amounted  to  twenty-six  thousand  men,  mth  a  numerous  and  well- 
appointed  cavalry ;  and  this  great  force  obliged  the  armies  of  the 
parliament  to  raise  the  siege  of  York.     Had  Rupert  been  con 


CHAP.  XII.]  CROMWELL   AFTER    THE    BATTLE.  171 

tented  with  this  success,  and  intrenched  himself  in  the  strongest 
city  of  the  north  of  England,  he  and  Newcastle  might  have  main- 
tained their  ground  ;  but  Rupert,  against  the  advice  of  Newcastle, 
resolved  on  an  engagement  with  the  parliamentary  generals,  who 
had  retreated  to  Marston  Moor,  on  the  banks  of  the  Ouse,  five  miles 
from  the  city. 

The  next  day  after  the  relief  of  York  was  fought  the  famous 
battle  of  Marston  Moor,  (July  2,  1644,)  the  bloodiest  in  the  war, 
which  resulted  in  the  entire  discomfiture  of  the  royalist  forces,  and 
the  ruin  of  the  royal  interests  at  the  north.  York  was  captured 
in  a  few  days.  Rupert  retreated  to  Lancashire  to  recruit  his 
army,  and  Newcastle,  disgusted  with  Rupert,  and  with  the  turn 
affairs  had  taken,  withdrew  beyond  seas.  The  Scots  soon  stormed 
the  town  of  Newcastle,  and  the  whole  north  of  England  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  victors. 

This  great  battle  was  decided  by  the  ability  of  Cromwell,  now 
lieutenant-general  in  the  army  of  the  parliament.  He  had  distin- 
guished himself  in  all  subordinate  stations,  in  the  field  of  battle, 
in  raising  forces,  and  in  councils  of  war,  for  which  he  had  been 
promoted  to  serve  as  second  under  the  Earl  of  Manchester.  But 
his  remarkable  military  genius  was  not  apparent  to  the  parliament 
until  the  battle  of  Marston  Moor,  and  on  him  the  eyes  of  the  nation 
now  began  to  be  centred.  He  was  now  forty-five  years  of  age, 
in  the  vigor  of  his  manhood,  burning  with  religious  enthusiasm, 
and  eager  to  deliver  his  country  from  the  tyranny  of  Charles  I., 
and  of  all  kings.  He  was  an  Independent  and  a  radical,  opposed 
to  the  Episcopalians,  to  the  Presbyterians,  to  the  Scots,  to  all  mod- 
erate men,  to  all  moderate  measures,  to  all  jurisdiction  in  mat- 
ters of  religion,  and  to  all  authority  in  political  affairs,  which  did 
not  directly  emanate  from  the  people,  who  were  called  upon  to 
regulate  themselves  by  their  individual  reason.  He  was  the  idol 
of  the  Independent  party,  which  now  began  to  gain  the  ascendency 
in  that  stormy  crisis.  For  three  years,  the  Presbyterians  had 
been  in  the  ascendant,  but  had  not  realized  the  hopes  or  expecta- 
tions of  the  enthusiastic  advocates  of  freedom.  By  turns  imperi- 
ous and  wavering,  fanatical  and  moderate,  they  sought  to  curtail 
and  humble  the  king,  not  to  ruin  him ;  to  depress  Episcopacy,  but 
to  establish  another  religion  by  the  sword  of  the  magistrate.   Their 


172  ENTHUSIASM    OF   THE   INDEPENDENTS.  [cHAP.  IH. 

leaders  were  timid,  insincere,  and  disunited ;  few  among  them 
had  definite  views  respecting  the  future  government  of  the  realm ; 
and  they  gradually  lost  the  confidence  of  the  nation.  But  the 
Independents  reposed  fearlessly  on  the  greatness  and  grandeur  of 
their  abstract  principles,  and  pronounced,  without  a  scruple,  those 
potent  words  which  kindled  a  popular  enthusiasm  —  equality  of 
rights,  the  just  distribution  of  property,  and  the  removal  of  all 
abuses.  Above  all,  they  were  enthusiasts  in  religion,  as  well  as 
in  liberty,  and  devoutly  attached  to  the  doctrines  of  Calvin.  They 
abominated  all  pleasures  and  pursuits  which  diverted  their  minds 
from  the  contemplation  of  God,  or  the  reality  of  a  future  state. 
Cromwell  himself  lived  in  the  ecstasy  of  religious  excitement. 
His  language  was  the  language  of  the  Bible,  and  its  solemn  truths 
were  not  dogmas,  but  convictions  to  his  ardent  mind.  In  the  ardor 
of  his  zeal  and  the  frenzy  of  his  hopes,  he  fondly  fancied  that  the 
people  of  England  were  to  rise  in  simultaneous  confederation, 
shake  off  all  the  old  shackles  of  priests  and  kings,  and  be  governed 
in  all  their  actions,  by  the  principles  of  the  Bible.  A  sort  of 
Jewish  theocracy  was  to  be  restored  on  earth,  and  he  was  to  be 
the  organ  of  the  divine  will,  as  was  Joshua  of  old,  when  he  led 
the  Israelites  against  the  pagan  inhabitants  of  the  promised  land. 
Up  to  this  time,  no  inconsistencies  disgraced  him.  His  prayers 
and  his  exhortations  were  in  accordance  with  his  actions,  and  the 
most  scrutinizing  malignity  could  attribute  nothing  to  him  but  sin- 
cerity and  ardor  in  the  cause  which  he  had  so  warmly  espoused. 
As  magistrate,  as  member  of  parliament,  as  farmer,  or  as  general, 
he  slighted  no  religious  duties,  and  was  devoted  to  the  apparent 
interests  of  England.  Such  a  man,  so  fervent,  enthusiastic,  honest, 
patriotic,  and  able,  of  course  was  pointed  out  as  a  future  leader, 
especially  when  his  great  military  talents  were  observed  at  Marston 
Moor.  From  the  memorable  2d  of  July,  he  became  the  most 
marked  and  influential  man  in  England.  Hampden  had  offered 
up  his  life  as  a  martyr,  and  Pym,  the  great  lawyer  and  statesman, 
had  died  from  exhaustion.  Essex  had  won  no  victory  commensu- 
rate with  the  public  expectations,  and  Waller  lost  his  army  by 
desertions  and  indecisive  measures.  Both  Essex  and  Manchester, 
with  their  large  estates,  their  aristocratic  connections,  and  their 
Presbyterian  sympathies,  were  afraid  of  treating  the  king  too  well. 


CHAP.  XII.]  BATTLE    OF    NASEBY.  178 

The  battle  of  Newbury,  which  shortly  after  was  gained  by  the  par- 
liamentarians, was  without  decisive  results,  in  consequence  of  the 
indecision  of  Manchester.  The  parliament  and  the  nation  looked 
for  another  leader,  who  would  pursue  his  advantages,  and  adopt 
more  vigorous  measures.  At  this  point,  the  Presbyterians  would 
have  made  peace  with  the  king,  who  still  continued  his  insincere 
negotiations  ;  but  it  was  too  late.  The  Independents  had  gained 
the  ascendency,  and  their  voice  was  for  war  —  no  more  dallying, 
no  more  treaties,  no  more  half  measures,  but  uncompromising 
war.  It  was  plain  that  either  the  king  or  the  Independents  must 
be  the  absolute  rulers  of  England. 

Then  was  passed  (April  3, 1645)  the  famous  Self-Denying  Ordi- 
nance, by  which  all  members  of  parliament  were  excluded  from 
command  in  the  army,  an  act  designed  to  get  rid  of  Essex  and 
Manchester,  and  prepare  the  way  for  the  elevation  of  Cromwell. 
Sir  Thomas  Fairfax  was  appointed  to  the  supreme  command,  and 
Cromwell  was  despatched  into  the  inland  counties  to  raise  recruits. 
But  it  was  soon  obvious  that  the  army  could  do  nothing  without 
him,  although  it  was  remodelled  and  reenforced ;  and  even  Fairfax 
and  his  officers  petitioned  parliament  that  Cromwell  might  be  ap- 
pointed lieutenant-general  again,  and  commander-in-chief  of  the 
horse  ;  which  request  was  granted,  and  Cromwell  rejoined  the 
army,  of  which  he  was  its  hope  and  idol.  == 

He  joined  it  in  time  to  win  the  most  decisive  battle  of  the  war, 
the  battle  of  Naseby,  June  14,  1645.  The  forces  of  both  armies 
were  nearly  balanced,  and  the  royalists  were  commanded  by  the 
king  in  person,  assisted  by  his  ablest  generals.  But  the  rout  of  the 
king's  forces  was  complete,  his  fortunes  were  prostrated,  and  he 
was  driven,  with  the  remnants  of  his  army,  from  one  part  of  the 
kingdom  to  the  other,  while  the  victorious  parliamentarians  were 
filled  with  exultation  and  joy. .  Cromwell,  however,  was  modest 
and  composed,  and  ascribed  the  victory  to  the  God  of  battles, 
whose  servant,  he  fancied,  he  preeminently  was. 

The  parliamentary  army  continued  its  successes.  Montrose 
gained  the  battle  of  Alford  ;  Bridgewater  surrendered  to  Fairfax  ; 
Glasgow  and  Edinburgh  surrendered  to  Montrose  ;  Prince  Rupert 
was  driven  from  Bristol,  and,  as  the  king  thought,  most  disgrace- 
fully;  which  misfortune  gave  new  joy  to  the  parliament,  andcaused 
15* 


174  SUCCESS    OF    THE    PARLIAMENTARY    ARMY.      [cHAP.  Xll. 

new  thanksgivings  from  Cromwell,  who  gained  the  victory.  From 
Bristol,  the  army  turned  southward,  and  encountered  what  royalist 
force  there  was  in  that  quarter,  stormed  Brjdgewater,  drove  the 
royalist  generals  into  Cornwall,  took  Winchester,  battered  down 
Basing  House,  rich  in  provisions,  ammunition,  and  silver  plate,  and 
completely  prostrated  all  the  hopes  of  the  king  in  the  south  of 
England.  Charles  fled  from  Oxford,  secretly,  to  join  the  Scottish 
army. 

By  the  24th  of  June,  1646,  all  the  garrisons  of  England  and 
Wales,  except  those  in  the  north,  were  in  the  hands  of  the  parlia- 
ment. In  July,  the  parliament  sent  their  final  propositions  to  the 
king  at  Newcastle,  which  were  extremely  humiliating,  and  which 
he  rejected.  Negotiations  were  then  entered  into  between  the 
parliament  and  the  Scots,  which  were  long  protracted,  but  which 
finally  ended  in  an  agreement,  by  the  Scots,  to  surrender  the  king 
to  the  parliament,  for  the  payment  of  their  dues.  They  accord- 
ingly marched  home  with  an  instalment  of  two  himdred  thousand 
pounds,  and  the  king  was  given  up,  not  to  the  Independents,  but 
to  the  Commissioners  of  parliament,  in  which  body  the  Presbyterian 
interest  predominated. 

At  this  juncture,  (January,  1647,)  Cromwell,  rather  than  the  king, 
was  in  danger  of  losing  his  head.  The  Presbyterians,  who  did  not 
wish  to  abolish  royalty,  but  establish  uniformity  with  their  mode  of 
worship,  began  to  be  extremely  jealous  of  the  Independents,  who 
were  bent  on  more  complete  toleration  of  opinions,  and  who  aimed 
at  a  total  overthrow  of  many  of  the  old  institutions  of  the  country. 
So  soon  as  the  king  was  humbled,  and  in  their  hands,  it  was  pro- 
posed to  disband  the  army  which  had  gloriously  finished  the  war, 
and  which  was  chiefly  composed  of  the  Independents,  and  to  create 
a  new  one  on  a  Presbyterian  model.  The  excuse  was,  that  the 
contest  was  ended,  while,  indeed^  the  royalists  were  rather  dis- 
persed and  humbled,  than  subdued.  It  was  voted  that,  in  the 
reduced  army,  no  one  should  have,  except  Fairfax,  a  higher  rank 
than  colonel,  a  measure  aimed  directly  at  Cromwell,  now  both 
feared  and  distrusted  by  the  Presbyterians.  But  the  army  refused 
to  be  disbanded  without  payment  of  its  arrears,  and,  moreover, 
marched  upon  London,  in  spite  of  the  vote  of  the  parliament  that 
it  should  not  come  within  twenty-five  miles.     Several  irritating 


CHAP.  XII.]  SEIZURE    OF    THE    KING.  175 

resolutions  ware  passed  by  the  parliament,  which  only  had  the 
effect  of  uniting  the  army  more  strongly  together,  in  resistance 
against  parliament,  as  well  as  against  the  king.  The  Lords  and 
Commons  then  voted  that  the  king  should  be  brought  nearer  Lon- 
don, and  new  negotiations  opened  with  him,  which  were  prevented 
from  being  carried  into  effect  by  the  seizure  of  the  king  at  Holmby 
House,  by  Comet  Joyce,  with  a  strong  party  of  horse  belonging  to 
Whalley's  regiment,  probably  at  the  instigation  of  Cromwell  and 
Ireton.  His  majesty  was  now  in  the  hands  of  the  army,  his 
worst  enemy,  and,  though  treated  with  respect  and  deference,  was 
really  guarded  closely,  and  watched  by  the  Independent  generals. 
The  same  day,  Cromwell  left  London  in  haste,  and  joined  the 
army,  knowing  full  well  that  he  was  in  imminent  danger  of  arrest. 
He  was  cordially  received,  and  forthwith  the  army  resolved  not  to 
disband  until  all  the  national  grievances  were  redressed,  thus  setting 
itself  up  virtually  against  all  the  constituted  authorities.  Fairfax, 
Cromwell,  Ireton,  and  Hammond,  with  other  high  officers,  then 
waited  on  the  king,  and  protested  that  they  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  seizure  of  his  person,  and  even  invited  him  to  return  to  Holniby 
House.  But  the  king  never  liked  the  Presbyterians,  and  was 
willing  to  remain  with  the  army  instead,  especially  since  he  was 
permitted  to  have  Episcopal  chaplains,  and  to  see  whomsoever  he 
pleased. 

The  generals  of  the  army  were  not  content  with  the  seizure  of 
his  majesty's  person,  but  now  caused  eleven  of  the  most  obnoxious 
of  the  Presbyterian  leaders  of  parliament  to  be  accused,  upon 
which  they  hid  themselves,  while  the  army  advanced  towards 
London.  The  parliament,  at  first,  made  a  show  of  resistance,  but 
soon  abandoned  its  course,  and  now  voted  that  the  army  should 
be  treated  with  more  respect  and  care.  It  was  evident  now  to  all 
persons  where  the  seat  of  power  rested. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  king  was  removed  from  Newmarket  to 
Kingston,  from  Hatfield  to  Woburn  Abbey,  and  thence  to  Windsor 
Castle,  which  was  the  scene  of  new  intrigues  and  negotiations  on 
his  part,  and  on  the  part  of  parliament,  and  even  on  the  part  of 
Cromwell.  This  was  the  last  chance  the  king  had.  Had  he  cor- 
dially sided  now  with  either  the  Presbyterians  or  the  Independents, 
his  subsequent  misfortunes  might  have  been  averted.      But  he 


178  TRIUMPH   OF   THE   INDEPENDENTS.  [cHAP.  XII. 

hated  both  parties,  and  trifled  with  both,  and  hoped  to  conquer 
both.  He  was  unable  to  see  the  crisis  of  his  affairs,  or  to  adapt 
himself  to  it.  He  was  incapable  of  fair  dealing  with  any  party. 
His  duplicity  and  dissimulation  were  fully  made  known  to  Crom- 
well and  Ireton  by  a  letter  of  the  king  to  his  wife,  which  they  inter- 
cepted ;  and  they  made  up  their  minds  to  more  decided  courses. 
The  king  was  more  closely  guarded ;  the  army  marched  to  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  London ;  a  committee  of  safety  was  named, 
and  parliament  was  intimidated  into  the  passing  of  a  resolution,  by 
which  the  city  of  London  and  the  Tower  were  intrusted  to  Fairfax 
and  Cromwell.  The  Presbyterian  party  was  forever  depressed, 
its  leading  members  fled  to  France,  and  the  army  had  every  thing 
after  its  own  way.  Parliament  still  was  ostensibly  the  supreme 
power  in  the  land ;  but  it  was  entirely  controlled  by  the  Independ- 
ent leaders  and  generals. 

The  victorious  Independents  then  made  their  celebrated  pro- 
posals to  the  king,  as  the  Presbyterians  had  done  before  them ; 
only  the  conditions  which  the  former  imposed  were  more  liberal, 
and  would  have  granted  to  the  king  powers  almost  as  great  as  are 
now  exercised  by  the  sovereign.  But  he  would  not  accept  them, 
and  continued  to  play  his  game  of  kingcraft. 

Shortly  after,  the  king  contrived  to  escape  from  Windsor  to  the 
Isle  of  Wight,  with  the  connivance  of  Cromwell.  At  Carisbrook 
Castle,  where  he  quartered  himself,  he  was  more  closely  guarded 
than  before.  Seeing  this,  he  renewed  his  negotiations  with  the 
Scots,  and  attempted  to  escape.  But  escape  was  impossible.  He 
was  now  in  the  hands  of  men  who  aimed  at  his  life.  A  strong  party 
in  the  army,  called  the  Levellers^  openly  advocated  his  execu- 
tion, and  the  establishment  of  a  republic  ;  and  parliament  itself 
resolved  to  have  no  further  treaty  with  him.  His  only  hope  was 
now  from  the  Scots,  and  they  prepared  to  rescue  him. 

Although  the  government  of  the  country  was  now  virtually  in 
the  hands  of  the  Independents  and  of  the  army,  the  state  of  affairs 
was  extremely  critical,  and  none  other  than  Cromwell  could  have 
extricated  the  dominant  party  from  the  difficulties.  In  one 'quarter 
was  an  imprisoned  and  intriguing  king  in  league  with  the  Scots, 
while  the  royalist  party  was  waiting  for  the  first  reverse  to  rise  up 
again  with  new  strength  in  various  parts  of  the  land.     Indeed, 


CHAP.  XII.]  CROMWELL    INVADES    SCOTLAND.  177 

there  were  several  insurrections,  which  required  all  the  vigor 
of  Cromwell  to  suppress.  The  city  of  London,  which  held  the 
purse-strings,  was  at  heart  Presbyterian,  and  was  extremely  dissatis- 
fied with  the  course  affairs  were  taking.  Then,  again,  there  was 
a  large,  headstrong,  levelling,  mutineer  party  in  the  army,  which 
clamored  for  violent  courses,  which  at  that  time  would  have  ruined 
every  thing.  Finally,  the  Scotch  parliament  had  voted  to  raise  a 
force  of  forty  thousand  men,  to  invade  England  and  rescue  the 
king.  Cromwell,  before  he  could  settle  the  peace  of  the  country, 
must  overcome  all  these  difficulties.  Who,  but  he,  could  have 
triumphed  over  so  many  obstacles,  and  such  apparent  anarchy  ? 

The  first  thing  Cromwell  did  was  to  restore  order  in  England  ; 
and  therefore  he  obtained  leave  to  march  against  the  rebels,  who 
had  arisen  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  Scarcely  were  these  sub- 
dued, before  he  heard  of  the  advance  of  the  Scottish  army,  under 
the  Duke  of  Hamilton.  A  second  civil  war  now  commenced,  and 
all  parties  witnessed  the  result  with  fearful  anxiety. 

The  army  of  Hamilton  was  not  as  large  as  he  had  hoped.  Still 
he  had  fifteen  thousand  men,  and  crossed  the  borders,  while  Crom- 
well was  besieging  Pembroke,  in  a  distant  part  of  the  kingdom. 
But  Pembroke  soon  surrendered ;  and  Cromwell  advanced,  by 
rapid  marches,  against  the  Scottish  army,  more  than  twice  as 
large  as  his  own.  The  hostile  forces  met  in  Lancashire.  Hamil- 
ton was  successively  defeated  at  Preston,  Wigan,  and  Warrington. 
Hamilton  was  taken  prisoner  at  Uttoxeter,  August  25,  1648,  and 
his  invading  army  was  completely  annihilated. 

Cromwell  then  resolved  to  invade,  in  his  turn,  Scotland  itself, 
and,  by  a  series  of  military  actions,  to  give  to  the  army  a  still 
greater  ascendency.  He  was  welcomed  at  Edinburgh  by  the  Duke 
of  Argyle,  the  head  of  an  opposing  faction,  and  was  styled  "  the 
Preserver  of  Scotland."  That  country  was  indeed  rent  with  most 
unhappy  divisions,  which  Lieutenant-General  Cromwell  remedied 
in  the  best  way  he  could  ;  and  then  he  rapidly  retraced  his  steps, 
to  compose  greater  difficulties  at  home.  In  his  absence,  the 
Presbyterians  had  rallied,  and  were  again  negotiating  with  the 
king  on  the  Isle  of  Wight,  while  Cromwell  was  openly  denounced 
in  the  House  of  Lords  as  ambitious,  treacherous,  and  perfidious. 
Fairfax,  his  superior  in  command,  but  inferior  in  influence,  was 

N 


178  SEIZURE    OF   THE   KING   A    SECOND   TIME.       [cHAP.  XII. 

subduing  the  rebel  royalists,  who  made  a  firm  resistance  at  Col- 
chester, and  all  the  various  parties  were  sending  their  remonstrances 
to  parliament. 

Among  these  was  a  remarkable  on,e  from  the  regiments  of 
Ireton,  Ingoldsby,  Fleetwood,  Whalley,  and  Overton,  which  im- 
puted to  parliament  the  neglect  of  the  affairs  of  the  realm,  called 
upon  it  to  proclaim  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  and  the  election 
of  a  supreme  magistrate,  and  threatened  to  take  matters  into  their 
own  hands.  This  was  in  November,  1646  ;  but,  long  before  this, 
a  republican  government  was  contemplated,  although  the  leaders 
of  the  army  had  not  joined  in  with  the  hue  and  cry  which  the 
fanatical  Levellers  had  made. 

In  the  midst  of  the  storm  which  the  petition  from  the  army  had 
raised,  the  news  arrived  that  the  king  had  been  seized  a  second 
time,  and  had  been  carried  a  prisoner  to  Hurst  Castle,  on  the 
coast  opposite  the  island,  where  he  was  closely  confined  by  com- 
mand of  the  army.  Parliament  was  justly  indignant,  and  the 
debate  relative  to  peace  was  resumed  with  redoubled  earnestness. 
It  is  probable  that,  at  this  crisis,  so  irritated  was  parliament  against 
the  army,  peace  would  have  been  made  with  the  king,  and  the 
Independent  party  suppressed,  had  not  most  decisive  measures 
been  taken  by  the  army.  A  rupture  between  the  parliament 
and  the  army  was  inevitable.  But  Cromwell  and  the  army 
chiefs  had  resolved  upon  their  courses.  The  mighty  stream  of 
revolution  could  no  longer  be  checked.  Twenty  thousand  men 
had  vowed  that  parliament  should  be  purged.  On  the  morning  of 
December  6,  Colonel  Pride  and  Colonel  Rich,  with  troops,  sur- 
rounded the  House  of  Commons ;  and,  as  the  members  were  going 
into  the  house,  the  most  obnoxious  were  seized  and  sent  to  prison, 
among  whom  were  Primrose,  who  had  lost  his  ears  in  his  contest 
against  the  crown.  Waller,  Harley,  Walker,  and  various  other 
men,  who  had  distinguished  themselves  as  advocates  of  constitu- 
tional liberty.  None  now  remained  in  the  House  of  Commons  but 
some  forty  Independents,  who  were  the  tools  of  the  army,  and 
who  voted  to  Cromwell  their  hearty  thanks.  "  The  minority  had 
now  become  a  majority," — which  is  not  unusual  in  revolutionary 
times, — and  proceeded  to  the  work,  in  good  earnest,  which  it  had 
long  contemplated. 


CHAP.  XII.]  TRIAL    OF   THE    KING.  179 

This  was  the  trial  of  the  king,  whose  apartments  at  Whitehall 
were  now  occupied  by  his  victorious  general,  and  whose  treasures 
were  now  lavished  on  his  triumphant  soldiers. 

On  the  17th  of  December,  1648,  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  the 
drawbridge  of  the  Castle  of  Hurst  was  lowered,  and  a  troop  of 
liorse  entered  the  yard.  Two  days  after,  the  king  was  removed  to 
Windsor.  On  the  23d,  the  Commons  voted  that  he  should  be 
brought  to  trial.  On  the  20th  of  January,  Charles  Stuart,  King 
of  England,  was  brought  before  the  Court  of  High  Commis- 
sion, in  Westminster  Hall,  and  placed  at  the  bar,  to  be  tried  by 
this  self-constituted  body  for  his  life.  In  the  indictment,  he  was 
charged  with  being  a  tyrant,  traitor,  and  murderer.  To  such  an 
indictment,  and  before  such  a  body,  the  dignified  but  unfortunate 
successor  of  William  the  Conqueror  demurred.  He  refused  to 
acknowledge  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court.  But  the  solemn  mock- 
ery of  the  trial  proceeded  nevertheless,  and  on  the  27th,  sentence 
of  death  was  pronounced  upon  the  prisoner  —  that  prisoner  the 
King  of  England,  a  few  years  before  the  absolute  ruler  of  the 
state.  On  January  30,  the  bloody  sentence  was  executed,  and 
the  soul  of  the  murdered  king  ascended  to  that  God  who  pardons 
those  who  put  their  trust  in  him,  in  spite  of  all  their  mistakes, 
errors,  and  delusions.  The  career  of  Charles  I.  is  the  most  melan- 
choly in  English  history.  That  he  was  tyrannical,  that  he  disre- 
garded the  laws  by  which  he  swore  to  rule,  that  he  was  narrow 
and  bigoted,  that  he  was  deceitful  in  his  promises,  that  he  was 
bent  on  overturning  the  liberties  of  England,  and  did  not  compre- 
hend the  wants  and  circumstances  of  his  times,  can  scarcely  be 
questioned.  But  that  he  was  sincere  in  his  religion,  upright  in  his 
private  life,  of  respectable  talents,  and  good  intentions,  must  also 
be  admitted.  His  execution,  or  rather  his  martyrdom,  made  a 
deep  and  melancholy  impression  in  all  Christian  countries,  and 
was  the  great  blunder  which  the  republicans  made — a  blunder 
which  Hampden  would  have  avoided.  His  death,  however,  re- 
moved from  England  a  most  dangerous  intriguer,  and,  for  a  while, 
cemented  the  power  of  Cromwell  and  his  party,  who  now  had 
undisputed  ascendency  in  the  government  of  the  realm.  Charles's 
exactions  and  tyranny  provoked  the  resistance  of  parliament,  and 
the  indignation  of  the  people,  then  intensely  excited  in  discussing 


180  TRIAL    OF   THE   KING.  [cHAP.  XII. 

the  abstract  principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  The  resist- 
ance of  parliament  created  the  necessity  of  an  army,  and  the 
indignation  of  the  people  filled  it  with  enthusiasts.  The  army 
flushed  with  success,  forgot  its  relations  and  duties,  and  usurped 
the  government  it  had  destroyed ;  and  a  military  dictatorship, 
the  almost  inevitable  result  of  revolution,  though  under  the  name 
of  a  republic,  succeeded  to  the  despotism  of  the  Stuart  kings. 
This  republic,  therefore,  next  claims  attention. 


IlEFEaENCKS.  — ^^The  standard  Histories  of  England.  Giiizot's  History 
of  the  English  Revolution.  Clarendon's  History  of  the  Rebellion.  Fors- 
ter's  Life  of  the  Statesmen  of  the  Commonwealth.  Neal's  History  of  the 
Puritans.  Macaulay's  Essays.  Lives  of  Bacon,  Raleigh,  Strafford, 
Laud,  Hampden,  and  Cromwell.  These  works  furnish  aU  the  common 
information.  Few  American  students  have  the  opportunity  to  investi- 
gate Thurlow's  State  Papers,  or  Rushworth,  Whitelocke,  Dugdale,  or 
Mrs.  Hutchinson. 


aikr.  XIII.]  THE   PROTECTORATE.  181 

CHAPTER     XIII. 

PROTECTORATE  OF  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

On  the  day  of  the  king^s  execution,  January  30,  1649,  the 
House  of  Commons  —  being  but  the  shadow  of  a  House  of  Com- 
mons, yet  ostensibly  the  supreme  authority  in  England  —  passed 
an  act  prohibiting  the  proclamation  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  or  any 
other  person,  to  be  king  of  England.  On  the  6th  of  February, 
the  House  of  Peers  was  decreed  useless  and  dangerous,  and  was 
also  dispensed  with.  On  the  next  day,  royalty  was  formally 
abolished.  The  supreme  executive  power  was  vested  in  a  council 
of  state  of  forty  members,  the  president  of  which  was  Bradshaw, 
the  relative  and  friend  of  Milton,  who  employed  his  immortal  genius 
in  advocating  the  new  government.  The  army  remained  under  the 
command  of  Fairfax  and  Cromwell ;  the  navy  was  controlled  by 
a  board  of  admiralty,  headed  by  Sir  Harry  Vane.  A  greater  tolera- 
tion of  religion  was  proclaimed  than  had  ever  been  known  before, 
much  to  the  annoyance  of  the  Presbyterians,  who  were  additionally 
vexed  that  the  state  was  separated  entirely  from  the  church. 

The  Independents  pursued  their  victory  with  considerable  mode- 
ration, and  only  the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  and  Lords  Holland  and  Ca- 
pel,  were  executed  for  treason,  while  a  few  others  were  shut  up  in 
the  Tower.  Never  was  so  mighty  a  revolution  accomplished  with  so 
little  bloodshed.  But  it  required  all  the  wisdom  and  vigor  of  Fair- 
fax and  Cromwell  to  repress  the  ultra  radical  spirit  which  had 
crept  into  several  detachments  of  the  army,  and  to  baffle  the 
movements  which  the  Scots  were  making  in  favor  of  Charles 
Stuart,  who  had  already  been  proclaimed  king  by  the  parliament 
of  Scotland,  and  in  Ireland  by  the  Marquis  of  Ormond. 

The  insurrection  in  Ireland  first  required  the  notice  of  the  new 
English  government.  Cromwell  accepted  the  conduct  of  the  war, 
and  the  office  of  lord  lieutenant.  Dublin  and  Derry  were  the  only 
places  which  held  out  for  the  parliament.  All  other  parts  of  the 
corntry  were  in  a  state  of  insurrection.  On  the  15th  of  August, 
16 


182  STORMING    OF    DROGHEDA    AND    WEXFORD.      [ciIAP.  Xlil. 

Cromwell  and  his  son-in-law,  Ireton,  landed  near  Dublin  with  an 
army  of  six  thousand  foot  and  three  thousand  horse  only ;  but  it 
was  an  army  of  Ironsides  and  Titans.  In  six  months,  the  com- 
plete reconquest  of  the  country  was  effected.  The  policy  of  the 
conqueror  was  severe  and  questionable  ;  but  it  was  successful. 
In  the  hope  of  bringing  the  war  to  a  speedy  termination,  Cromwell 
proceeded  in  such  a  way  as  to  bring  terror  to  his  name,  and  curses 
on  his  memory.  Drogheda  and  Wexford  were  not  only  taken  by 
storm,  but  nearly  the  whole  garrison,  of  more  than  five  thousand 
men,  were  barbarously  put  to  the  sword.  The  Irish  quailed  before 
such  a  victor,  and  town  after  town  hastened  to  make  peace. 
Cromwell's  excuse  for  his  undeniable  cruelties  was,  the  necessity 
of  the  case,  of  which  we  may  reasonably  suppose  him  to  be  a 
judge.  Scotland  was  in  array,  and  English  affairs,  scarcely  set- 
tled, demanded  his  presence  in  London.  An  imperfect  conquest, 
on  the  principles  of  Rousseau's  philanthropy,  did  not  suit  the  taste 
or  the  notions  of  Cromwell.  If  he  had  consumed  a  few  more 
months  than  he  actually  employed,  either  in  treaty-making  with  a 
deceitful  though  oppressed  people,  or  in  battles  on  the  principles 
of  the  military  science  then  in  vogue,  the  cause  of  Independency 
would  have  been  lost;  and  that  cause,  associated  with  that  of 
liberty,  in  the  eyes  of  Cromwell,  was  of  more  value  than  the  whole 
Irish  nation,  or  any  other  nation.  Cromwell  was  a  devotee  to  a 
cause.  Principles,  with  him,  were  every  thing ;  men  were  nothing 
in  comparison.  To  advance  the  principles  for  which  he  fought, 
he  scrupled  to  use  no  means  or  instruments.  In  this  he  may  have 
erred.  But  this  policy  was  the  secret  of  his  success.  We  cannot 
justify  his  cruelties  in  war,  because  it  is  hard  to  justify  the  war 
itself.  But  if  we  acknowledge  its  necessity,  we  should  remember 
that  such  a  master  of  war  as  was  Cromwell  knew  his  circum- 
stances better  than  we  do  or  can  know.  To  his  immortal  glory  it 
can  be  said  that  he  never  inflicted  cruelty  when  he  deemed  it  un- 
necessary ;  that  he  never  fought  for  the  love  of  fighting ;  and  that 
he  stopped  fighting  when  the  cause  for  which  he  fought  was  won. 
And  this  is  more  than  can  be  said  of  most  conquerors,  even  of 
those  imbued  with  sentimental  horror  of  bloodshed.  Our  world  is 
full  of  cant.  Cromwell's  language  sometimes  sounds  like  it,  espe- 
cially when  he  speaks  of  the  "  hand  of  the  Lord  "  in  "  these  mighty 
changes,"  who  "  breakoth  the  enemies  of  his  church  in  pieces." 


CHAP.  XIII.]  BATTLE    OF   WORCESTER.  183 

When  the  conquest  of  Ireland  was  completed,  Cromwell  has- 
tened to  London  to  receive  the  thanks  of  parliament  and  the  accla- 
mations of  the  people ;  and  then  he  hurried  to  Scotland  to  do  battle 
with  the  Scots,  who  had  made  a  treaty  with  the  king,  and  were 
resolved  to  establish  Presbyterianism  and  royalty.  Cromwell  now 
superseded  Fairfax,  and  was  created  captain- general  of  the  forces 
of  the  commonwealth.  Cromwell  passed  the  borders,  reached  Edin- 
burgh without  molestation,  and  then  advanced  on  the  Scotch  army 
of  twenty-seven  thousand  men,  under  Lesley,  at  Dunbar,  where 
was  fought  a  most  desperate  battle,  but  which  Cromwell  gained  with 
marvellous  intrepidity  and  skill.  Three  thousand  men  were  killed, 
and  ten  thousand  taken  prisoners,  and  the  hopes  of  the  Scots 
blasted.  The  lord-general  made  a  halt,  and  the  whole  army  sang 
the  one  hundred  and  seventeenth  psalm,  and  then  advanced  upon 
the  capital,  which  opened  its  gates.  Glasgow  followed  the  exam- 
ple ;  the  whole  south  of  Scotland  submitted  ;  while  the  king  fled 
towards  the  Highlands,  but  soon  rallied,  and  even  took  the  bold 
resolution  of  marching  into  England,  while  Cromwell  was  besieg- 
ing Perth.  Charles  reached  Worcester  before  he  was  overtaken, 
established  himself  with  sixteen  thousand  men,  but  was  attacked 
by  Cromwell,  was  defeated,  and  with  difficulty  fled.  He  reached 
France,  however,  and  quietly  rested  until  he  was  brought  back  by 
General  Monk. 

With  the  battle  of  Worcester,  September  3,  1651,  which  Crom- 
well called  his  "  crowning  mercy,"  ended  his  military  life.  From 
that  day  to  the  time  when  he  became  protector,  the  most  noticeable 
point  in  his  history  is  his  conduct  towards  the  parliament.  And 
this  conduct  is  the  most  objectionable  part  of  his  life  and  char- 
acter ;  for  in  this  he  violated  the  very  principles  he  originally  pro- 
fessed, and  committed  the  same  usurpations  which  he  condemned 
in  Charles  I.  Here  he  was  not  true  to  himself  or  his  cause. 
Here  he  laid  himself  open  to  the  censure  of  all  posterity ;  and 
although  he  had  great  excuses,  and  his  course  has  many  pallia- 
tions, still  it  would  seem  a  mockery  of  all  moral  distinctions  not  to 
condemn  in  him  what  we  would  condemn  in  another,  or  what 
Cromwell  himself  condemned  in  the  murdered  king.  It  is  true  he 
did  not,  at  once,  turn  usurper,  not  until  circumstances  seemed  to 
warrant  the  usurpation  —  the  utter  impossibility  of  governing  Eng- 


184  POLICY   OF   CROMWELL.  [cHAP.  XIII. 

land,  except  by  exercising  the  rights  and  privileges  of  an  absolute 
monarch.  On  the  principles  of  expediency,  he  has  been  vindicated, 
and  will  be  vindicated,  so  long  as  his  cause  is  advocated  by  parti- 
san historians,  or  expediency  itself  is  advocated  as  a  rule  of  life. 

After  tlie  battle  of  Worcester,  Cromwell  lost,  in  a  measure,  his 
democmtic  sympathies,  and  naturally,  in  view  of  the  great  excesses 
of  the  party  with  which  he  had  been  identified.  That  he  desired 
the  public  good  we  cannot  reasonably  doubt ;  and  he  adapted  him- 
self to  those  circumstances  which  seemed  to  advance  it,  and  which 
a  spirit  of  wild  democratic  license  assuredly  did  not.  So  far  as 
it  contributed  to  overturn  the  throne  of  the  Stuarts,  and  the  whole 
system  of  public  abuses,  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  Cromwell  favored 
it.  But  no  further.  When  it  seemed  subversive  of  law  and  order, 
the  grand  ends  of  all  civil  governments,  then  he  opposed  it. 
And  in  this  he  showed  that  he  was  much  more  conservative  in 
his  spirit  than  has  often  been  supposed;  and,  in  this  conserva- 
tism he  resembled  Luther  and  other  great  reformers,  who  were 
not  unreflecting  incendiaries,  as  is  sometimes  thought  —  men  who 
destroy,  but  do  not  reconstruct.  Luther,  at  heart,  was  a  conserva- 
tive, and  never  sought  a  change  to  which  he  was  not  led  by  strong 
inward  tempests  —  forced  to  make  it  by  the  voice  of  his  conscience, 
which  he  ever  obeyed,  and  loyalty  to  which  so  remarkably  char- 
acterized the  early  reformers,  and  no  class  of  men  more  than 
the  Puritans.  Cromwell  abhorred  the  government  of  Charles, 
because  it  was  not  a  government  which  respected  justice,  and 
which  set  at  defiance  the  higher  laws  of  God.  It  was  not  because 
Charles  violated  the  constitution,  it  was  because  he  violated  truth 
and  equity,  and  the  nation's  good,  that  he  opposed  him.  Cromwell 
usurped  his  prerogatives,  and  violated  the  English  constitution ;  but 
he  did  not  transgress  those  great  primal  principles  of  truth,  for 
which  constitutions  are  made.  He  looked  beyond  constitutions  to 
abstract  laws  of  justice ;  and  it  never  can  be  laid  to  his  charge 
that  he  slighted  these,  or  proved  a  weak  or  wicked  ruler.  He 
quarrelled  with  parliament,  because  the  parliament  wished  to  per- 
petuate its  existence  unlawfully  and  meanly,  and  was  moreover 
unwilling  and  unable  to  cope  with  many  difficulties  which  con- 
stantly arose.  It  may  be  supposed  that  Cromwell  may  thus  have 
thought :  "  I  will  not  support  the  parliament,  for  it  will  not  main- 


CHAP.  XIII.]  THE   BUMP    PARLIAMENT.  185 

tain  law ;  it  will  not  legislate  wisely  or  beneficently ;  it  seeks  its 
own,  not  the  nation's  good.  And  therefore  I  take  away  its  exist- 
ence, and  rule  myself;  for  I  have  the  fear  of  God  before  my 
eyes,  and  am  determined  to  rule  by  his  laws,  and  to  advance  his 
glory."  Deluded  he  was  ;  blinded  by  ambition  he  may  have  been  ; 
but  he  sought  to  elevate  his  country  ;  and  his  efforts  in  her  behalf 
are  appreciated  and  praised  by  the  very  men  who  are  most  severe 
on  his  undoubted  usurpation. 

Shortly  after  the  Long  Parliament  was  purged,  at  the  instigation 
of  Cromwell,  and  had  become  the  Rump  Parliament,  as  it  was 
derisively  called,  it  appointed  a  committee  to  take  into  considera- 
tion the  time  when  their  powers  should  cease.  But  the  battle  of 
Worcester  was  fought  before  any  thing  was  done,  except  to  deter- 
mine that  future  parliaments  should  consist  of  four  hundred  mem- 
bers, and  that  the  existing  members  should  be  returned,  in  the 
next  parliament,  for  the  places  they  then  represented.  At  length, 
in  December,  1651,  it  was  decided,  through  the  urgent  entreaties 
of  Cromwell,  but  only  by  a  small  majority,  that  the  present  parlia- 
ment should  cease  in  November,  1654.  Thus  it  was  obvious  to 
Cromwell  that  the  parliament,  reduced  as  it  was,  and  composed  of 
Independents,  was  jealous  of  him,  and  also  was  aiming  to  per- 
petuate its  own  existence,  against  all  the  principles  of  a  representa- 
tive government.  Such  are  men,  so  greedy  of  power  themselves, 
so  censorious  in  regard  to  the  violation  of  justice  by  others,  so 
blind  to  the  violation  of  justice  by  themselves.  Cromwell  was  not 
the  man  to  permit  the  usurpation  of  power  by  a  body  of  forty  or 
sixty  Independents,  however  willing  he  was  to  assume  it  himself. 
Beside,  the  Rump  Parliament  was  inefficient,  and  did  not  consult 
the  interests  of  the  country.  There  was  general  complaint.  But 
none  complained  more  bitterly  than  Cromwell  himself.  Meeting 
Whitelock,  who  then  held  the  great  seal,  he  said  that  the  "  army 
was  beginning  to  have  a  strange  distaste  against  them ;  that  their 
pride,  and  ambition,  and  self-seeking  ;  their  engrossing  all  places 
of  honor  and  profit  to  themselves  and  their  friends ;  their  daily 
breaking  into  new  and  violent  parties  ;  their  delays  of  business, 
and  design  to  perpetuate  themselves,  and  continue  the  power  in 
their  own  hands ;  their  meddling  in  private  matters  between  party 
and  party ;  their  injustice  and  partiality  ;  the  scandalous  lives  of 
16* 


186  DISPERSION    OF   THE    PARLIAMENT.  [cHAP.  XIII. 

some  of  them,  do  give  too  much  ground  for  people  to  open  their 
mouths  against  them ;  and  unless  there  be  some  power  to  check 
them,  it  will  be  impossible  to  prevent  our  ruin."  These  things 
Whitclock  admitted,  but  did  not  see  how  they  could  be  removed, 
since  both  he  and  Cromwell  held  their  commissions  from  this  same 
parliament,  which  was  the  supreme  authority.  But  Cromwell 
thought  there  was  nothing  to  hope,  and  every  thing  to  fear,  from 
such  a  body  of  men ;  that  they  would  destroy  what  the  Lord  had 
done.  "  We  all  forget  Grod,"  said  he,  "  and  God  will  forget  us. 
He  will  give  us  up  to  confusion,  and  these  men  will  help  it  on,  if 
left  to  themselves."  Then  he  asked  the  great  lawyer  and  chan- 
cellor, "  What  if  a  man  should  take  upon  himself  to  be  king  ? "  — 
evidently  having  in  view  the  regal  power.  But  Whitelock  pre- 
sented such  powerful  reasons  against  it,  that  Cromwell  gave  up  the 
idea,  though  he  was  resolved  to  destroy  the  parliament.  He  then 
held  repeated  conferences  with  the  officers  of  the  army,  who  sym- 
pathized with  him,  and  who  supported  him.  At  last,  while  parlia- 
ment was  about  to  pass  an  obnoxious  bill,  Cromwell  hurried  to  the 
House,  taking  with  him  a  file  of  musketeers,  having  resolved  what 
he  would  do.  These  he  left  in  the  lobby,  and,  taking  his  seat, 
listened  a  while  to  the  discussion,  and  then  rose,  and  addressed 
the  House.  Waxing  warm,  he  told  them,  in  violent  language, 
"  that  they  were  deniers  of  justice,  were  oppressive,  profane  men, 
were  planning  to  bring  in  Presbyterians,  and  would  lose  no  time 
in  destroying  the  cause  they  had  deserted."  Sir  Harry  Vane  and 
Sir  Peter  Wentworth  rose  to  remonstrate,  but  Cromwell,  leaving  his 
seat,  walked  up  and  down  the  floor,  with  his  hat  on,  reproached 
the  diffei'ent  members,  who  again  remonstrated.  But  Cromwell, 
raising  his  voice,  exclaimed,  "  You  are  no  parliament.  Get  you 
gone.  Give  way  to  honester  men."  Then,  stamping  with  his 
feet,  the  door  opened,  and  the  musketeers  entered,  and  the  mem- 
bers were  dispersed,  after  giving  vent  to  their  feelings  in  the  lan- 
guage of  reproach.  Most  of  them  wore  swords,  but  none  offered 
resistance  to  the  man  they  feared,  and  tamely  departed. 

Thus  was  the  constitution  utterly  subverted,  and  parliament,  as 
well  as  the  throne,  destroyed.  Cromwell  published,  the  next  day, 
a  vindication  of  his  conduct,  setting  forth  the  incapacity,  selfish- 
ness, and  corruption  of  the  parliament,  in  which  were  some  of  the 


CHAP.  XIIK]      CROMWELL   ASSUMES   THE    PROTECTORSHIP.  187 

best  men  England  ever  had,  including  Sir  Harry  Vane,  Alger- 
non Sydney,  and  Sir  Peter  Wentworth. 

His  next  step  was  to  order  the  continuance  of  all  the  courts  of 
justice,  as  before,  and  summon  a  new  parliament,  the  members  of 
which  were  nominated  by  himself  and  hi§  council  of  officers.  The 
army,  with  Cromwell  at  the  head,  was  now  the  supreme  authority. 

The  new  parliament,  composed  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
persons,  assembled  on  the  4th  of  July,  when  Cromwell  explained 
the  reason  of  his  conduct,  and  set  forth  the  mercies  of  the  Lord 
to  England.  This  parliament  was  not  constitutional,  since  it  was 
not  elected  by  the  people  of  England,  but  by  Cromwell,  and  there- 
fore would  be  likely  to  be  his  tool.  But  had  the  elections  been 
left  free,  the  Presbyterians  would  have  been  returned  as  the  largest 
party,  and  they  would  have  ruined  the  cause  which  Cromwell  and 
the  Independents  sought  to  support.  In  revolutions,  there  cannot 
be  pursued  half  measures.  Revolutions  are  the  contest  between 
parties.  The  strongest  paity  gains  the  ascendency,  and  keeps  it 
if  it  can  —  never  by  old,  constituted  laws.  In  the  English  Revolu- 
tion the  Independents  gained  this  ascendency  by  their  valor,  enthu- 
siasm, and  wisdom.  And  their  great  representative  ruled  in  their 
name. 

The  new  members  of  parliament  reapjjointed  the  old  Council  of 
State,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Cromwell,  abolished  the  High  Court 
of  Chancery,  nominated  commissioners  to  preside  in  courts  of  jus- 
tice, and  proceeded  to  other  sweeping  changes,  which  alarmed  their 
great  nominator,  who  induced  them  to  dissolve  themselves  and  sur- 
render their  trust  into  his  hands,  under  the  title  of  Lord  Protector  of 
England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland.  On  the  16th  of  December,  he  was 
installed  in  his  great  office,  with  considerable  pomp,  in  the  Court 
of  Chancery,  and  the  new  constitution  was  read,  which  invested 
him  with  all  the  powers  of  a  king.  It,  however,  ordained  that  he 
should  rule  with  the  aid  of  a  parliament,  which  should  have  all 
the  functions  and  powers  of  the  old  parliaments,  should  be  assem- 
bled within  five  months,  should  last  three  years,  and  should  consist 
of  four  hundred  and  sixty  members.  It  provided  for  the  mam- 
ienance  of  the  army  and  navy,  of  which  the  protector  was  the 
head,  and  decided  that  the  great  officers  of  state  should  be  chosen 
by  approbation  of  parliament.  Religious  toleration  was  proclaimed, 
and  provision  made  for  the  support  of  the  clergv. 


188  THE   DUTCH   WAR.  [CHAP.  XIII. 

Thus  was  the  constitution  of  the  nation  changed,  and  a  republic 
substituted  for  a  monarchy,  at  the  head  of  which  was  the  ablest 
man  of  his  age.  And  there  was  need  of  all  his  abilities.  Eng- 
land then  was  engaged  in  war  with  the  Dutch,  and  the  internal 
state  of  the  nation  demanded  the  attention  of  a  vigorous  mind  and 
a  still  more  vigorous  arm. 

The  Dutch  war  was  prosecuted  with  great  vigor,  and  was 
signalized  by  the  naval  victories  of  Blake,  Dean,  and  Monk  over 
the  celebrated  Van  Tromp  and  De  Ruyter,  the  Dutch  admirals. 
The  war  was  caused  by  the  commercial  jealousies  of  the  two  na- 
tions, and  by  the  unwillingness  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  who  had 
married  a  daughter  of  Charles  I.,  to  acknowledge  the  ambassador 
of  the  new  English  republic.  But  the  superiority  which  the  Eng- 
lish sailors  evinced,  soon  taught  the  Dutch  how  dangerous  it  was 
to  provoke  a  nation  which  should  be  its  ally  on  all  grounds  of 
national  policy,  and  peace  was  therefore  honorably  secured  after 
a  most  successful  war. 

The  war  being  ended,  the  protector  had  more  leisure  to  attend 
to  business  at  home.  Sir  Matthew  Hale  was  made  chief  justice,  and 
Thurloe,  secretary  of  state ;  disorganizers  were  punished ;  an  insur- 
rection in  Scotland  was  quelled  by  Greneral  Monk ;  and  order  and 
law  were  restored. 

Meanwhile,  the  new  parliament,  the  first  which  had  been  freely 
elected  for  fourteen  years,  soon  manifested  a  spirit  of  opposition 
to  Cromwell,  deferred  to  vote  him  supplies,  and  annoyed  him  all  in 
its  power.  Still  he  permitted  the  members  to  discuss  trifling  subjects 
and  waste  their  time  for  five  months ;  but,  at  the  earliest  time  the 
new  constitution  would  allow,  he  summoned  them  to  the  Painted 
Chamber,  made  them  a  long  speech,  reminded  them  of  their  neg- 
lect in  attending  to  the  interests  of  the  nation,  while  disputing 
about  abstract  questions,  even  while  it  was  beset  with  dangers  and 
difiiculties,  and  then  dissolved  them,  (January  22,  1656.) 

For  the  next  eighteen  months,  he  ruled  without  a  parliament, 
and  found  no  difficulty  in  raising  supplies,  and  supporting  his  now 
unlimited  power.  During  this  time,  he  suppressed  a  dangerous 
insurrection  in  England  itself,  and  carried  on  a  successful  and 
brilliant  war  against  Spain,  a  power  which  he  hated  with  all  the 
capacity  of  hatred  of  which  his  nation  has  shown  itself  occasionally 
so  capable.    Tn  the  naval  war  with  Snain.  Blake  was  asain  the  hero : 


CHAP.  XIII.]       CROMWELL    RULES    WITHOUT    A   PARLIAMENT.  189 

During  the  contest  the  rich  island  of  Jamaica  was  conquered  from 
the  Spanish,  a  possession  which  England  has  ever  since  greatly 
valued. 

Encouraged  by  his  successes,  Cromwell  now  called  a  third  parlia- 
ment, which  he  opened  the  17th  of  September,  1656,  after  ejecting 
one  hundred  of  the  members,  on  account  of  their  political  senti- 
ments. The  new  House  voted  for  the  prosecution  of  the  Spanish 
war,  granted  ample  supplies,  and  offered  to  Cromwell  the  title  of 
king.  But  his  council  violently  opposed  it,  and  Cromwell  found  it 
expedient  to  relinquish  this  object  of  his  heart.  But  his  protector- 
ate was  continued  to  him,  and  he  was  empowered  to  nominate 
his  successor. 

In  a  short  time,  however,  the  spirit  of  the  new  parliament  was 
manifested,  not  only  by  violent  opposition  to  the  protector,  but 
in  acts  which  would,  if  carried  out,  have  subverted  the  government 
again,  and  have'  plunged  England  in  anarchy.  It  was  plain  that  the 
protector  could  not  rule  with  a  real  representation  of  the  nation. 
So  he  dissolved  it ;  and  thus  ended  the  last  effort  of  Cromwell  to 
rule  with  a  parliament ;  or,  as  his  advocates  say,  to  restore  the 
constitution  of  his  country.  It  was  plain  that  there  was  too  much 
party  animosity  and  party  ambition  to  permit  the  protector, 
shackled  by  the  law,  to  carry  out  his  designs  of  order  and  good 
government.  Self-preservation  compelled  him  to  be  suspicious 
and  despotic,  and  also  to  prohibit  the  exercise  of  the  Catholic 
worship,  and  to  curtail  the  religious  rights  of  the  Quakers,  Socini- 
ans,  and  Jews.  The  continual  plottings  and  political  disaffections 
of  these  parties  forced  him  to  rule  on  a  system  to  which  he  was 
not  at  first  inclined.  England  was  not  yet  prepared  for  the  civil 
and  religious  liberty  at  which  the  advocates  of  revolution  had  at 
first  aimed. 

So  Cromwell  now  resolved  to  rule  alone.  And  he  ruled  well. 
His  armies  were  victorious  on  the  continent,  and  England  was 
respected  abroad,  and  prospered  at  home.  The  most  able  and 
upright  men  were  appointed  to  office.  The  chairs  of  the  univer- 
sities were  filled  with  illustrious  scholars,  and  the  bench  adorned 
with  learned  and  honest  judges.  He  defended  the  great  interests 
of  Protestantism  on  the  Continent,  and  formed  alliances  which 
contributed  to  the  political  and  commercial  greatness  of  his  coun- 
try. He  generously  assisted  the  persecuted  Protestants  in  the 
valleys  of  Piedmont,  and  refused  to  make  treaties  with  hostile 


190  THE    PROTECTORATE.  [cHAP.  XIII. 

powers  unless  the  religious  liberties  of  the  Protestants  were  re- 
spected. He  lived  at  Hampton  Court,  the  old  palace  of  Cardinal 
Wolsey,  in  simple  and  sober  dignity  ;  nor  was  debauchery  or  riot 
seen  at  his  court.  He  lived  simply  and  unostentatiously,  and  to  the 
last  preserved  the  form,  and  perhaps  the  spirit,  of  his  early  piety. 
He  surrounded  himself  with  learned  men,  and  patronized  poets 
and  scholars.  Milton  was  his  familiar  guest,  and  the  youthful 
Dry  den  was  not  excluded  from  his  table.  An  outward  morality, 
at  least,  was  generally  observed,  and  the  strictest  discipline  was 
kept  at  his  court. 

Had  Cromwell's  life  been  prolonged  to  threescore  and  ten,  the 
history  of  England  might  have  been  different  for  the  next  two 
hundred  years.  But  such  was  not  his  fortune.  Providence 
removed  him  from  the  scene  of  his  conflicts  and  his  heroism  not 
long  after  the  dissolution  of  his  last  parliament.  The  death  of  a 
favorite  daughter  preyed  upon  his  mind,  and  the  cares  of  govern- 
ment undermined  his  constitution.  He  died  on  the  3d  of  Septem- 
ber, 1658,  the  anniversary  of  his  great  battles  of  Worcester  and 
Dunbar,  in  the  sixtieth  year  of  his  age. 

Two  or  three  nights  before  he  died,  he  was  heard  to  ejaculate 
the  following  prayer,  in  the  anticipation  of  his  speedy  departure : 
"  Lord,  though  I  am  a  miserable  and  wretched  creature,  I  am  in 
covenant  with  thee,  through  thy  grace ;  and  I  may,  I  will  come  to 
thee,  for  thy  people.  Thou  hast  made  me,  though  very  unworthy, 
a  mean  instrument  to  do  them  good,  and  Thee  service ;  and  many 
of  them  have  set  too  high  value  upon  me,  though  others  wish 
and  would  be  glad  of  my  death.  Lord,  however  Thou  disposes! 
of  me,  contmue  and  go  on  to  do  good  to  them.  Give  them 
consistency  of  judgment,  one  heart,  and  mutual  love ;  and,  with 
the  work  of  reformation,  go  on  to  deliver  them,  and  make  the 
name  of  Christ  glorious  in  the  world.  Teach  those  who  look  too 
much  on  thy  instrument  to  depend  more  upon  Thyself.  Pardon 
such  as  desire  to  trample  upon  the  dust  of  a  poor  worm,  for 
they  are  Thy  people  too.  And  pardon  the  folly  of  this  short 
prayer,  even  for  Jesus  Christ's  sake.  And  give  me  a  good  night, 
if  it  be  Thy  pleasure.     Amen." 

Thus  closed  the  career  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  the  most  remark 
able  man  in  the  list  of  England's  heroes.  His  motives  and  his 
honesty  have  often  been  impeached,  and  sometimes  by  the  most 


CHAP.  XIII.]  REGAL   GOVERNMENT  RESTORED.  191 

excellent  and  discriminating,  but  oftener  by  heated  partisans,  who 
had  no  sympathy  with  his  reforms  or  opinions.  His  genius,  how- 
ever, has  never  been  questioned,  nor  his  extraordinary  talent,  for 
governing  a  nation  in  the  most  eventful  period  of  its  history. 
And  there  is  a  large  class,  and  that  class  an  increasing  one,  not 
confined  to  Independents  or  republicans,  who  look  upon  him 
as  one  habitually  governed  by  a  stern  sense  of  duty,  as  a  man 
who  feared  God  and  regarded  justice,  as  a  man  sincerely  devoted 
to  the  best  interests  of  his  country,  and  deserving  of  the  highest 
praises  of  all  enlightened  critics.  No  man  has  ever  been  more  ex- 
travagantly eulogized,  or  been  the  subject  of  more  unsparing  abuse 
and  more  cordial  detestation.  Some  are  incapable  of  viewing  him 
in  any  other  light  than  as  a  profound  hypocrite  and  ambitious 
despot,  while  others  see  in  him  nothing  but  the  saint  and  unspotted 
ruler.  He  had  his  defects  ;  for  human  nature,  in  all  instances,  is 
weak ;  but  in  spite  of  these,  and  of  many  and  great  inconsistences, 
from  which  no  sophistry  can  clear  him,  his  great  and  varied 
excellences  will  ever  entitle  him  to  the  rank  accorded  to  him  by 
such  writers  as  Vaughan  and  Carlyle. 

With  the  death  of  Cromwell  virtually  ended  the  republic. 
"  Puritanism  without  its  king,  is  kingless,  anarchic,  falls  into  dislo- 
cation, staggers,  and  plunges  into  even  deeper  anarchy."  His 
son  Richard,  according  to  his  will,  was  proclaimed  protector  in  his 
stead.  But  his  reign  was  short.  Petitions  poured  in  from  every 
quarter  for  the  restoration  of  parliament.  It  was  restored,  and 
also  with  it  royalty  itself.  General  Monk  advanced  with  his  army 
from  Scotland,  and  quartered  in  London.  In  May,  1660,  Charles 
II.  was  proclaimed  king  at  the  gates  of  Westminster  Hall.  The 
experiment  of  a  republic  had  been  tried,  and  failed.  Puritanism 
veiled  its  face.  It  was  no  longer  the  spirit  of  the  nation.  A  great 
reaction  commenced.  Royalty,  with  new  but  disguised  despotism, 
resumed  its  sway. 

Refekences.  —  Carlyle's,  Dr.  Vaughan's,  and  D'Aubigne's  Life  of 
Cromwell.  Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans.  Macaulay's  History  of 
England.  Godwin's  Commonwealth.  The  common  histories  of  Eng- 
land. Milton's  prose  writings  may  be  profitably  read  in  this  connection, 
and  the  various  reviews  and  essays  which  have  of  late  been  written  on 
the  character  of  Cromwell. 


192  THE    RESTORATION.  [CHAP.  XIV. 


CHAPTER     XIV. 

THE    REIGN    OF    CHARLES    II. 

Few  events  in  English  history  have  ever  been  hailed  with 
greater  popular  enthusiasm  than  the  restoration  of  Charles  II. 
On  the  25th  of  May,  1660,  he  landed  near  Dover,  with  his  two 
brothers,  the  Dukes  of  York  and  Gloucester.  On  the  29th  of  May, 
he  made  his  triumphal  entry  into  London.  It  was  his  birthday . 
he  was  thirty  years  of  age,  and  in  the  full  maturity  of  manly 
beauty,  while  his  gracious  manners  and  captivating  speech  made 
him  the  favorite  of  the  people,  as  well  as  of  the  old  nobility.  The 
season  was  full  of  charms,  and  the  spirits  of  all  classes  were 
buoyant  with  hope.  Every  thing  conspired  to  give  a  glow  to  the 
popular  enthusiasm.  A  long  line  of  illustrious  monarchs  was 
restored.  The  hateful  fires  of  religious  fanaticism  were  apparently 
extinguished.  An  accomplished  sovereign,  disciplined  in  the  school 
of  adversity,  of  brilliant  talents,  amiable  temper,  fascinating 
manners,  and  singular  experiences,  had  returned  to  the  throne  of 
his  ancestors,  and  had  sworn  to  rule  by  the  laws,  to  forget  old 
offences,  and  promote  liberty  of  conscience.  No  longer  should 
there  be  a  government  of  soldiers,  nor  the  rule  of  a  man  hostile  to 
those  pleasures  and  opinions  which  had  ever  been  dear  to  the 
English  people.  With  the  return  of  the  exiled  prince,  should  also 
return  joy,  peace,  and  prosperity.  For  seventeen  years,  there 
had  been  violent  political  and  social  animosities,  war,  tyranny, 
social  restraints,  and  religious  fanaticism.  But  order  and  law 
were  now  to  be  reestablished,  and  the  reign  of  cant  and  hypocrisy 
was  now  to  end.  Justice  and  mercy  were  to  meet  together  in  the 
person  of  a  king  who  was  represented  to  have  all  the  virtues  and 
none  of  the  vices  of  his  station  and  his  times.  So  people  reasoned 
and  felt,  of  all  classes  and  conditions.  And  why  should  they  not 
rejoice  in  the  restoration  of  such  blessings.?  The  ways  were 
strewn  with  flowers,  the  bells  sent  forth  a  merry  peal,  the  streets 
were   hung  with  tapestries;    while  aldermen  with   their  heavy 


;IHAP.  XIV.]  GREAT    PUBLIC    REJOICINGS.  193 

chains,  nobles  in  their  robes  of  pomp,  ladies  with  their  silks  and 
satins,  and  waving  handkerchiefs,  filling  all  the  balconies  and  win 
dows ;  musicians,  dancers,  and  exulting  crowds,  —  all  welcomed 
the  return  of  Charles.  Never  was  there  so  great  a  jubilee  in 
London ;  and  never  did  monarch  receive  such  addresses  of  flat- 
tery and  loyalty.  "  Dread  monarch,"  said  the  Earl  of  Manches- 
ter, in  the  House  of  Lords,  "  I  oifer  no  flattering  titles.  You 
are  the  desire  of  three  kingdoms,  the  strength  and  stay  of  the 
tribes  of  the  people."  "  Most  royal  sovereign,"  said  one  of  the 
deputations,  "  the  hearts  of  all  are  filled  with  veneration  for  you, 
confidence  in  you,  longings  for  you.  All  degrees,  and  ages,  and 
sexes,  high,  low,  rich  and  poor,  men,  women,  and  children,  join 
in  sending  up  to  Heaven  one  prayer, '  Long  live  King  Charles  II. ; ' 
so  that  the  English  air  is  not  susceptible  of  any  other  sound  , 
bells,  bonfires,  peals  of  ordnance,  shouts,  and  acclamations  of 
the  people  bear  no  other  moral ;  nor  can  his  majesty  conceive 
with  what  joy,  what  cheerfulness,  what  lettings  out  of  the  soul, 
what  expressions  of  transported  minds,  a  stupendous  concourse 
of  people  attended  the  proclamation  of  their  most  potent,  most 
mighty,  and  most  undoubted  king."  Such  was  the  adulatory  lan- 
guage addressed  by  the  English  people  to  the  son  of  the  king  they 
had  murdered,  and  to  a  man  noted  for  every  frivolity  and  vice  that 
could  degrade  a  sovereign.  What  are  we  to  think  of  that  public 
joy,  and  public  sycophancy,  after  so  many  years  of  hard  fighting 
for  civil  and  religious  liberty .?  For  what  were  the  battles  of 
Naseby  and  Worcester .?  For  what  the  Solemn  League  and  Cove- 
nant }  For  what  the  trial  and  execution  of  Charles  I.  ?  For  what 
the  elevation  of  Cromwell  ?  Alas !  for  what  were  all  the  experi- 
ments and  sufferings  of  twenty  years,  the  breaking  up  of  old 
and  mighty  customs,  and  twenty  years  of  blood,  usurpation,  and 
change  ?  What  were  the  benefits  of  the  Revolution  ?  Or,  had  it 
no  benefits  ?  How  happened  it  that  a  whole  nation  should  simul- 
taneously rise  and  expel  their  monarch  from  a  throne  which  his 
ancestors  had  enjoyed  for  six  hundred  years,  and  then,  in  so  short 
a  time,  have  elevated  to  this  old  throne,  which  was  supposed  to 
be  subverted  forever,  the  son  of  their  insulted,  humiliated,  and 
murdered  king  ?  and  this  without  bloodshed,  with  every  demon- 
stration of  national  rejoicings,  and  with  every  external  mark  of 
17  O 


194  REACTION   TO   REVOLUTIONARY   PRINCIPLES.   [cHAP.  XIV. 

repentance  for  their  past  conduct.  Charles,  too,  was  restored  with- 
out any  of  those  limitations  by  which  the  nation  sought  to  curtail 
the  power  of  his  father.  The  nation  surrendered  to  him  more 
absolute  power  than  the  most  ambitious  kings,  since  the  reign  of 
John,  had  ever  claimed,  —  more  than  he  ever  dared  to  expect. 
How  shall  we  explain  these  things  ?  And  what  is  the  moral  which 
they  teach  ? 

One  fact  is  obvious,  —  that  a  great  reaction  had  taken  place  in 
the  national  mind  as  to  revolutionary  principles.  It  is  evident  that  a 
great  disgust  for  the  government  of  Cromwell  had  succeeded  the 
antipathy  to  the  royal  government  of  Charles.  All  classes  as 
ardently  desired  the  restoration,  as  they  had  before  favored  the 
rebellion.  Even  the  old  parliamentarians  hailed  the  return  of 
Charles,  notwithstanding  it  was  admitted  that  the  protectorate  was 
a  vigorous  administration  ;  that  law  and  order  were  enforced  ;  that 
religious  liberty  was  proclaimed  ;  that  the  rights  of  conscience 
were  respected ;  that  literature  and  science  were  encouraged ;  that 
the  morals  of  the  people  were  purified ;  that  the  ordinances  of 
religion  were  observed ;  that  vice  and  folly  were  discouraged ;  that 
justice  was  ably  administered;  that  peace  and  plenty  were  en- 
joyed ;  that  prosperity  attended  the  English  arms  abroad  ;  and  that 
the  nation  was  as  much  respected  abroad  as  it  was  prosperous  at 
home.  These  things  were  admitted  by  the  very  people  who 
rejoiced  in  the  restoration.  And  yet,  in  spite  of  all  these  substan- 
tial blessings,  the  reign  of  Cromwell  was  odious.     Why  was  this  ? 

It  can  only  be  explained  on  the  supposition  that  there  were 
unendurable  evils  connected  with  the  administration  of  Cromwell, 
which  more  than  balanced  the  benefits  he  conferred ;  or,  that 
expectations  were  held  out  by  Charles  of  national  benefits  greater 
than  those  conferred  by  the  republic ;  or,  that  the  nation  had  so 
retrograded  in  elevation  of  sentiment  as  to  be  unable  to  appreciate 
the  excellences  of  Cromwell's  administration. 

There  is  much  to  support  all  of  these  suppositions.  In  regard 
lo  the  evils  connected  with  the  republic,  it  is  certain  that  a  large 
standing  army  was  supported,  and  was  necessary  to  uphold  the 
government  of  the  protector,  in  order  to  give  to  it  efficiency  and 
character.  This  army  was  expensive,  and  the  people  felt  the 
burden.   They  always  complain  under  taxation,  whether  necessary 


CHAP.  XIV.]     EXCELLENCES    IN    CHARLES's   GOVERNMENT.  195 

or  not.  Taxes  ever  make  any  government  unpopular,  and  made 
the  administration  of  Cromwell  especially  so.  And  the  army 
showed  the  existence  of  a  military  despotism,  which,  however  im- 
peratively called  for,  or  rendered  unavoidable  by  revolution,  was 
still  a  hateful  fact.  The  English  never  have  liked  the  principle 
of  a  military  despotism.  And  it  was  a  bitter  reflection  to  feel  that 
so  much  blood  and  treasure  had  been  expended  to  get  rid  of  the 
arbitrary  rule  of  the  Stuarts,  only  -to  introduce  a  still  more  expen- 
sive and  arbitrary  government,  under  the  name  of  a  republic. 
Moreover,  the  eyes  of  the  people  were  opened  to  the  moral  cor- 
ruptions incident  to  the  support  of  a  large  army,  without  which  the 
power  of  Cromwell  would  have  been  unsubstantial.  He  may 
originally  have  desired  to  establish  his  power  on  a  civil  basis, 
rather  than  a  military  one  ;  but  his  desires  were  not  realized.  The 
parliaments  which  he  assembled  were  unpractical  and  disorderly. 
He  was  forced  to  rule  without  them.  But  the  nation  could  not 
forget  this  great  insult  to  their  liberties,  and  to  those  privileges 
which  had  ever  been  dear  to  them.  The  preponderance  of  the 
civil  power  has,  for  several  centuries,  characterized  the  govern- 
ment ;  and  no  blessings  were  sufficiently  great  to  balance  the  evil, 
in  the  eye  of  an  Englishman,  of  the  preponderance  of  a  military 
government,  neither  the  excellence  of  Cromwell's  life,  nor  the 
glory  and  greatness  to  which  he  raised  the  nation. 

Again,  much  was  expected  of  Charles  II.,  and  there  was  much 
in  his  character  and  early  administration  to  produce  content.  His 
manners  were  agreeable.  He  had  no  personal  antipathies  or 
jealousies.  He  selected,  at  first,  the  wisest  and  best  of  all  parties 
to  be  his  counsellors  and  ministers.  He  seemed  to  forget  old 
offences.  He  was  fond  of  pleasure  ;  was  good-natured  and  affa- 
ble. He  summoned  a  free  parliament.  His  interests  were  made 
to  appear  identical  with  those  of  the  people.  He  promised  to  rule 
by  the  laws.  He  did  not  openly  infringe  on  the  constitution.  And 
he  restored,  what  has  ever  been  so  dear  to  the  great  body  of  the 
nation,  the  Episcopal  Church  in  all  its  beauty  and  grandeur,  while 
he  did  not  recommence  the  persecution  of  Puritans  until  some  time 
had  elapsed  from  his  restoration.  Above  all,  he  disbanded  the 
army,  which  was  always  distasteful  to  the  people,  —  odious,  oner- 
ous, and  oppressive.     The  civil  power  again  triumphed  over  that 


196  FAILURE   OF   THE   PURITAN   EXPERIMENT.     [cHAP.  XIV. 

of  the  military,  and  circumstances  existed  which  rendered  the  sub- 
version of  liberty  very  difficult.  Many  adverse  events  transpired 
during  his  unfortunate  and  disgraceful  reign ;  but  these,  in  the 
early  part  of  it,  had  not,  of  course,  been  anticipated. 

There  is  also  force  in  the  third  supposition,  that  the  nation 
had  retrograded  in  moral  elevation.  All  writers  speak  of  a  strong 
reaction  to  the  religious  fervor  of  the  early  revolutionists.  The 
moral  influence  of  the  army  had  proved  destructive  to  the  habits  and 
sentiments  of  the  people.  A  strong  love  of  pleasure  and  demoral- 
izing amusements  existed,  when  Charles  was  recalled.  A  general 
laxity  of  morals  was  lamented  by  the  wisest  and  best  of  the  nation. 
The  religious  convictions  of  enthusiasts  survived  their  sympathies. 
Hypocrisy  and  cant  succeeded  fervor  and  honesty.  Infidelity 
lurked  in  many  a  bosom  in  which  devotional  ardor  had  once  warmly 
burned.  Distrust  of  all  philanthropy  and  all  human  virtue  was  as 
marked,  as  faith  in  the  same  previously  had  been.  The  ordi- 
nances of  religion  became  irksome,  and  it  was  remembered  with 
bitterness  that  the  Puritans,  in  the  days  of  their  ascendency,  had 
cruelly  proscribed  the  most  favorite  pleasures  and  time-honored 
festivals  of  old  England.  But  the  love  of  them  returned  with  re- 
doubled vigor.  May-poles,  wrestling-matches,  bear-baitings,  puppet- 
shows,  bowls,  horse-racing,  betting,  rope-dancing,  romping  under 
the  mistletoe  on  Christmas,  eating  boars'  heads,  attending  the  thea- 
tres, health-drinking,  —  all  these  old-fashioned  ways,  in  which  the 
English  sought  merriment,  were  restored.  The  evil  was  chiefly 
in  the  excess  to  which  these  pleasures  were  carried ;  and  every 
thing,  which  bore  any  resemblance  to  the  Puritans,  was  ridiculed 
and  despised.  The  nation,  as  a  nation,  did  not  love  Puritanism,  or 
any  thing  pertaining  to  it,  after  the  deep  religious  excitement  had 
passed  away.  The  people  were  ashamed  of  prayer-meetings,  of 
speaking  through  their  noses,  of  wearing  their  hair  straight,  of 
having  their  garments  cut  primly,  of  calling  their  children  by  the 
name  of  Moses,  Joshua,  Jeremiah,  Obadiah,  &c. ;  and,  in  short, 
of  all  customs  and  opinions  peculiar  to  the  Extreme  Puritans.  So 
general  was  the  disgust  of  Puritanism,  so  eager  were  all  to  indulge 
in  the  pleasures  that  had  been  forbidden  under  the  reign  of  Crom- 
well, so  sick  were  they  of  the  very  name  of  republicanism,  that 
Puritanism  may  be  said  to  have  proved,  in  England,  a  signal 
failure. 


CHAP.  XIV.]  REPEAL    OF   THE   TRIENNIAL   BILL.  197 

Such  were  some  of  the  reasons  of  popular  acclamation  on  the 
restoration  of  Charles  II.,  and  which  we  cannot  consider  entirely 
without  force.  A  state  of  mind  existed  in  England  as  favorable 
to  the  encroachments  of  royalty,  as,  twenty  years  before,  it  had 
been  unfavorable. 

Charles  was  not  a  high-minded,  or  honest,  or  patriotic  king ;  and 
therefore  we  might  naturally  expect  the  growth  of  absolutism  dur- 
ing his  reign.  The  progress  of  absolutism  is,  indeed,  one  of  its 
features.     This,  for  a  time,  demands  our  notice. 

On  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.,  his  subjects  made  no  particular 
stipulations  respecting  their  liberties,  which  were  incautiously 
intrusted  to  his  hands.  But,  at  first,  he  did  not  seem  inclined  to 
grasp  at  greater  powers  than  what  the  constitution  allowed  him. 
He  had  the  right  to  appoint  the  great  officers  of  state,  the  privi- 
lege of  veto  on  legislative  enactments,  the  control  of  the  army  and 
navy,  the  regulation  of  all  foreign  intercourse,  and  the  right  of 
making  peace  and  war.  But  the  constitution  did  not  allow  him  to 
rule  without  a  parliament,  or  to  raise  taxes  without  its  consent. 
The  parliament  might  grant  or  withhold  supplies  at  pleasure,  and 
all  money  bills  originated  and  were  discussed  in  the  House  of 
Commons  alone.  These  were  the  great  principles  of  the  English 
constitution,  which  Charles  swore  to  maintain. 

The  first  form  in  which  the  encroaching  temper  of  the  king 
was  manifested  was,  in  causing  the  Triennial  Bill  to  be  repealed. 
This  was  indeed  done  by  the  parliament,  but  through  the  royal 
influence.  This  bill  was  not  that  a  parliament  should  be  assembled 
every  three  years,  but  that  the  interval  between  one  session  and 
another  should  not  exceed  that  period.  But  this  wise  law,  which 
had  passed  by  acclamation  during  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  and  for 
which  even  Clarendon  had  voted,  was  regarded  by  Charles  II.  as 
subversive  of  the  liberty  of  his  crown ;  and  a  supple,  degenerate, 
and  sycophantic  parliament  gratified  his  wishes. 

About  the  same  time  was  passed  the  Corporation  Act,  which 

enjoined  all  magistrates,  and  persons  of  trust  in  corporations,  to 

swear  that  they  believed  it  unlawful,  under  any  pretence  whatever, 

to  take  arms  against  the  king.     The  Presbyterians  refused  to  take 

this  oath ;  and  they  were  therefore  excluded  from  offices  of  dignity 

and  trust.     The  act  bore  hard  upon  all  bodies  of  Dissenters  and 
17* 


198  SECRET   ALLIANCE    WITH    LOUIS    XIV.  [cHAP.  XIV. 

Roman  Catholics,  the  former  of  whom  were  most  cruelly  perse- 
cuted in  this  reign. 

The  next  most 'noticeable  effort  of  Charles  to  extend  his  power, 
independently  of  the  law,  was  his  secret  alliance  with  Louis  XIV. 
This  was  not  known  to  the  nation,  and  even  but  to  few  of  his  min- 
isters, and  was  the  most  disgraceful  act  of  his  reign.  For  the  mis- 
erable stipend  of  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  a  year,  he  was 
ready  to  compromise  the  interests  of  the  kingdom,  and  make  him- 
self the  slave  of  the  most  ambitious  sovereign  in  Europe.  He 
became  a  pensioner  of  France,  and  yet  did  not  feel  his  disgrace. 
Clarendon,  attached  as  he  was  to  monarchy,  and  to  the  house  of 
Stuart,  could  not  join  him  in  his  base  intrigues;  and  therefore 
lost,  as  was  to  be  expected,  the  royal  favor.  He  had  been  the 
companion  and  counsellor  of  Charles  in  the  days  of  his  exile  ;  he 
had  attempted  to  enkindle  in  his  mind  the  desire  of  great  deeds 
and  virtues ;  he  had  faithfully  served  him  as  chancellor  and 
prime  minister ;  he  was  impartial  and  incorruptible ;  he  was  as 
much  attached  to  Episcopacy,  as  he  was  to  monarchy ;  he  had 
even  advised  Charles  to  rule  without  a  parliament ;  and  yet  he  was 
disgraced  because  he  would  not  comply  with  all  the  wishes  of  his 
unscrupulous  master.  But  Clarendon  was,  nevertheless,  unpopu- 
lar with  the  nation.  He  had  advised  Charles  to  sell  Dunkirk,  the 
proudest  trophy  of  the  Revolution,  and  had  built  for  himself  a 
splendid  palace,  on  the  site  of  the  present  Clarendon  Hotel,  in 
Albemarle  Street,  which  the  people  called  Dunkirk  House.  He 
w£is  proud,  ostentatious,  and  dictatorial,  and  was  bitterly  hostile  to 
all  democratic  influences.  He  was  too  good  for  one  party,  and  not 
good  enough  for  the  other,  and  therefore  fell  to  the  ground ;  but 
he  retired,  if  not  with  dignity,  at  least  with  safety.  He  retreated 
to  the  Continent,  and  there  wrote  his  celebrated  history  of  the 
Great  Rebellion,  a  partial  and  bitter  history,  yet  a  valuable 
record  of  the  great  events  of  the  age  of  revolution  which  he  had 
witnessed  and  detested. 

Charles  received  the  bribe  of  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  from 
the  French  king,  with  the  hope  of  being  made  independent  of  his 
parliament,  and  with  the  condition  of  assisting  Louis  XIV.  in  his 
aggressive  wars  on  the  liberties  of  Europe,  especially  those  of 
Holland.     He  was,  at  heart,  an  absolutist,  and   rejoiced   in  the 


CHAP.  XIV.]       VENALITY   AND    SYCOPHANCY    OF    PARLIAMENT.        199 

victories  of  the  "  Grand  Monarch."  But  this  supply  was  scarcely 
sufficient  even  for  his  pleasures,  much  less  to  support  the  ordinary 
pomp  of  a  monarchy,  and  the  civil  and  military  powers  of  the  state. 
So  he  had  to  resort  to  other  means. 

It  happened,  fortunately  for  his  encroachments,  but  unfortunate- 
ly for  the  nation,  that  the  English  parliament,  at  that  period,  was 
more  corrupt,  venal,  base,  and  sycophantic  than  at  any  period 
under  the  Tudor  kings,  or  at  any  subsequent  period  under  the 
Hanoverian  princes.  The  House  of  Commons  made  no  indignant 
resistance ;  it  sent  up  but  few  spirited  remonstrances  ;  but  tamely 
acquiesced  in  the  measures  of  Charles  and  his  ministers.  Its 
members  were  bought  and  sold  with  unblushing  facility,  and  even 
were  corrupted  by  the  agents  of  the  French  king.  One  member 
received  six  thousand  pounds  for  his  vote.  Twenty-nine  of  the 
members  received  from  five  hundred  to  twelve  hundred  pounds  a 
year.  Charles  I.  attempted  to  rule  by  opposition  to  the  parlia- 
ment ;  Charles  II.  by  corrupting  it.  Hence  it  was  nearly  silent  in 
view  of  his  arbitrary  spirit,  his  repeated  encroachments,  and  his 
worthless  public  character. 

Among  his  worst  acts  was  his  shutting  up  the  Exchequer,  where 
the  bankers  and  merchants  had  been  in  the  habit  of  depositing 
money  on  the  security  of  the  funds,  receiving  a  large  interest  of 
from  eight  to  ten  per  cent.  By  closing  the  Exchequer,  the  bank- 
ers, unable  to  draw  out  their  money,  stopped  payment ;  and  a 
universal  panic  was  the  consequence,  during  which  many  great 
failures  happened.  By  this  base  violation  of  the  public  faith, 
Charles  obtained  one  million  three  hundred  thousand  pounds.  But 
it  undermined  his  popularity  more  than  any  of  his  acts,  since  he 
touched  the  pockets  of  the  people.  The  odium,  however,  fell 
chiefly  on  his  ministers,  especially  those  who  received  the  name 
of  the  Cahal,  from  the  fact  that  the  initials  of  their  names  spelt 
that  odious  term  of  reproach,  not  unmerited  in  their  case. 

These  five  ministers  were  Clifford,  Arlington,  Buckingham, 
x\shley,  and  Lauderdale  ;  and  they  were  the  great  instruments  of 
his  tyranny.  None  of  them  had  the  talents  or  audacity  of  Straf- 
ford, or  the  narrowness  and  bigotry  of  Laud ;  but  their  counsels 
were  injurious  to  the  nation. 

Clifford  and  Arlington  were  tolerably  respectable,  but  indifferent 


200  RESTRICTIONS    ON    THE    PRESS.  [cHAP.    XIV. 

to  the  gloiy  and  shame  of  their  country ;  while  Buckingham,  Ash- 
ley, and  Lauderdale  were  profligate,  unprincipled,  and  dishonest  to 
a  great  degree.  They  aided  Charles  to  corrupt  the  parliament 
and  deceive  the  nation.  They  removed  all  restraints  on  his  will, 
and  pandered  to  his  depraved  tastes.  It  was  by  their  suggestion 
that  the  king  shut  up  the  Exchequer.  They  also  favored  restric- 
tions on  the  press. 

These  restrictions  were  another  abomination  in  the  reign  of 
Charles,  but  one  ever  peculiar  to  a  despotic  government.  No 
book  could  be  printed  out  of  London,  York,  or  the  Universities. 
But  these  were  not  made  wholly  with  a  view  of  shackling  the 
mind,  but  to  prevent  those  libels  and  lampoons  which  made  the 
government  ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  the  people. 

Nothing  caused  more  popular  indignation,  during  this  reign,  than 
the  Forfeiture  of  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of  London.  The 
power  of  the  democracy  resided,  at  this  time,  with  the  corpora- 
tions, and  as  long  as  they  were  actuated  by  the  spirit  of  liberty, 
there  was  no  prospect  of  obtaining  a  parliament  entirely  subser- 
vient to  the  king.  It  was  determined  to  take  away  their  charters ; 
and  the  infamous  .Tudge  Jeffreys  was  found  a  most  subservient  tool 
of  royalty  in  undermining  the  liberties  of  the  country.  The  cor^- 
poration  of  London,  however,  received  back  its  charter,  after 
having  yielded  to  the  king  the  right  of  conferring  the  appointments 
of  mayor,  recorder,  and  sheriffs. 

Among  other  infringements  on  the  constitution  was  the  fining 
of  jurors  when  they  refused  to  act  according  to  the  direction  of 
the  judges.  Juries  were  constantly  intimidated,  and  their  privi 
leges  were  abridged.  A  new  parliament,  moreover,  was  not  con- 
voked after  three  years  had  elapsed  from  the  dissolution  of  the 
old  one,  which  infringement  was  the  more  reprehensible,  since  the 
king  had  nothing  to  fear  from  the  new  House  of  Commons,  the 
members  of  which  vied  with  each  other  in  a  base  compliancy  with 
the  royal  will. 

But  their  sycophancy  was  nothing  compared  with  what  the 
bishops  and  clergy  of  the  Established  Church  generally  evinced. 
Absolute  non-resistance  was  inculcated  from  the  pulpits,  and  the 
doctrine  ridiculed  that  power  emanated  from  the  people.  The 
divine  rights  of  kings,  and  the  divine  ordination  of  absolute  power, 


CHAP.  XIV.]  HABEAS   CORPUS   ACT.  201 

were  the  themes  of  divines,  while  Oxford  proclaimed  doctrines 
worthy  of  Mariana  and  the  Jesuits. 

Thus  various  influences  contributed  to  make  Charles  II.  absolute  in 
England — the  Courts  of  Justice,  the  Parliaments,  the  Universities, 
and  the  Church  of  England.  Had  he  been  as  ambitious  as  he  was 
fond  of  pleasure,  as  capable  of  ruling  as  he  was  capable  of  telling 
stories  at  the  dinner  table,  he  would,  like  Louis  XIV.,  have  reared 
an  absolute  throne  in  England.  But  he  was  too  easy,  too  careless, 
too  fond  of  pleasure  to  concentrate  his  thoughts  on  devising  means 
to  enslave  his  subjects. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  all  his  subjects  were  in- 
different to  his  encroachments,  in  spite  of  the  great  reaction  which 
had  succeeded  to  liberal  sentiments.  Before  he  died,  the  spirit  of 
resistance  was  beginning  to  be  seen,  and  some  checks  to  royal 
power  were  imposed  by  parliament  itself.  The  Habeas  Corpus 
Act,  the  most  important  since  the  declaration  of  Magna  Charta, 
was  passed,  and  through  the  influence  of  one  of  his  former  minis- 
ters, Ashley,  now  become  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  who  took  the 
popular  side,  after  having  served  all  sides,  but  always  with  a 
view  of  advancing  his  own  interests,  a  man  of  great  versatility  of 
genius,  of  great  sagacity,  and  of  varied  learning.  Had  Charles 
continued  much  longer  on  the  throne,  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the 
nation  would  have  been  finally  aroused  to  resist  his  spirit  of  en- 
croachment, for  the  principles  of  liberty  had  not  been  proclaimed 
in  vain. 

Charles  II.  was  a  tyrant,  and  one  of  the  worst  kings  that  ever 
sat  on  the  English  throne.  His  leading  defect  was  want  of  ear- 
nestness of  character,  which  made  him  indifferent  to  the  welfare  of 
his  country.  England,  during  his  reign,  was  reduced  to  compara- 
tive insignificance  in  the  eyes  of  foreigners,  and  was  neither 
feared  nor  respected.  Her  king  was  neither  a  powerful  frend 
nor  an  implacable  enemy,  and  left  the  Continental  Powers  to  pur- 
sue their  own  ends  unmolested  and  unrebuked.  Most  of  the  ad- 
ministrations of  the  English  kings  are  interlinked  with  the  whole 
system  of  European  politics.  But  the  reign  of  Charles  is  chiefly 
interesting  in  relation  to  the  domestic  history  of  England.  This 
history  is  chiefly  the  cabals  of  ministers,  the  intrigues  of  the 
court,  the  pleasures  and  follies  of  the  king,  the  attacks  he  made 


202  TITUS    DATES.  [cHAP.  ilV. 

on  the  constitution  without  any  direct  warfare  with  his  parliament, 
and  the  system  of  religious  persecution,  which  was  most  intolerant. 

The  king  was  at  heart  a  Catliolic ;  and  yet  the  persecution  of 
the  Catholics  is  one  of  the  most  signal  events  of  the  times.  We 
can  scarcely  conceive,  in  this  age,  of  the  spirit  of  distrust  and  fear 
which  pervaded  the  national  mind  in  reference  to  the  Catholics. 
Every  calumny  was  believed.  Every  trifling  offence  was  ex- 
aggerated, and  by  nearly  all  classes  in  the  community,  by  the 
Episcopalians,  as  well  as  by  the  Presbyterians  and  the  Independents. 

The  most  memorable  of  all  the  delusions  and  slanders  of  the 
times  was  produced  by  the  perjuries  of  an  unprincipled  wretch 
called  Titus  Gates,  who  took  advantage  of  the  general  infatuation 
to  advance  his  individual  interests.  Like  an  artful  politician,  he 
had  only  to  appeal  to  a  dominant  passion  or  prejudice,  and  he  was 
sure  of  making  his  fortune.  Like  a  cunning,  popular  orator,  he 
had  only  to  inflame  the  passions  of  the  people,  and  he  would  pass 
as  a  genius  and  a  prophet.  Few  are  so  abstractedly  and  coldly 
intellectual  as  not  to  be  mainly  governed  by  their  tastes  or  passions. 
Even  men  of  strong  intellect  have  frequently  strong  prejudices ; 
and  one  has  only  to  make  himself  master  of  these,  in  order  to  lead 
those  who  are  infinitely  their  superiors.  There  is  no  proof  that  all 
who  persecuted  the  Catholics  in  Charles's  time  were  either  weak 
or  ignorant.  But  there  is  evidence  of  unbounded  animosity,  a 
traditional  hatred,  not  much  diminished  since  the  Gunpowder  Plot 
of  Guy  Fawkes.  The  whole  nation  was  ready  to  believe  any 
thing  against  the  Catholics,  and  especially  against  their  church, 
which  was  supposed  to  be  persecuting  and  diabolical  in  all  its  prin- 
ciples and  in  all  its  practice.  In  this  state  of  the  popular  mind, 
Gates  made  his  hideous  revelations. 

He  was  a  broken-down  clergyman  of  the  Established  Church, 
and  had  lost  caste  for  disgraceful  irregularities.  But  he  professed 
to  hate  the  Catholics,  and  such  a  virtue  secured  him  friends. 
Among  these  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Tonge,  a  man  very  weak,  very 
credulous,  and  full  of  fears  respecting  the  intrigues  of  the  Catholics, 
but  honest  in  his  fears.  Gates  went  to  this  clergy-man,  and  a  plan 
was  concerted  between  them,  by  which  Gates  should  get  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  supposed  intrigues  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  He  pro- 
fessed himself  a  Catholic,  went  to  the  Continent,  and  entered  a 


CHAP.  XIV.]  OATES'S    REVELATIONS.  203 

Catholic  seminary,  but  was  soon  discharged  for  his  scandalous  irregu- 
larities. But  he  had  been  a  Catholic  long  enough  for  his  purposes. 
He  returned  to  London,  and  revealed  his  pretended  discoveries, 
among  which  he  declared  that  the  Jesuits  had  undertaken  to  restore 
the  Catholic  religion  in  England  by  force  ;  that  they  were  resolved 
to  take  the  king's  life,  and  had  actually  offered  a  bribe  of  fifteen 
thousand  pounds  to  the  queen's  physician ;  that  they  had  planned  to 
burn  London,  and  to  set  fire  to  all  the  shipping  in  the  Thames  ;  that 
they  were  plotting  to  make  a  general  massacre  of  the  Protestants ; 
that  a  French  army  was  about  to  invade  England ;  and  that  all 
the  horrors  of  St.  Bartholomew  were  to  be  again  acted  over! 
Ridiculous  as  were  these  assertions,  they  were  believed,  and  without 
a  particle  of  evidence  ;  so  great  was  the  national  infatuation.  The 
king  and  the  Duke  of  York  both  pronounced  the  whole  matter  a 
forgery,  and  laughed  at  the  credulity  of  the  people,  but  had  not  suffi- 
cient generosity  to  prevent  the  triumph  of  the  libellers.  But  Oates's 
testimony  was  not  enough  to  convict  any  one,  the  law  requiring 
two  witnesses.  But,  in  such  a  corrupt  age,  false  witnesses  could 
easily  be  procured.  An  infamous  wretch,  by  the  name  of  Bed- 
loe,  was  bribed,  a  man  who  had  been  imprisoned  in  Newgate  for 
swindling.  Others  equally  unscrupulous  were  soon  added  to 
the  list  of  informers,  and  no  calumnies,  however  gross  and  absurd, 
prevented  the  people  from  believing  them. 

It  happened  that  a  man,  by  the  name  of  Coleman,  was  suspected 
of  intrigues.  His  papers  were  searched,  and  some  passages  in 
them,  unfortunately,  seemed  to  confirm  the  statements  of  Gates. 
To  impartial  eyes,  these  papers  simply  indicated  a  desire  and  a 
hope  that  the  Catholic  religion  would  be  reestablished,  in  view  of 
the  predilections  of  Charles  and  James,  and  the  general  posture  of 
aflTairs,  just  as  some  enthusiastic  Jesuit  missionary  in  the  valley  of 
the  Mississippi  may  be  supposed  to  write  to  his  superior  that  Amer- 
ica is  on  the  eve  of  conversion  to  Catholicism. 

But  the  general  ferment  was  still  more  increased  by  the  disap- 
pearance of  an  eminent  justice  of  the  peace,  who  had  taken  the 
depositions  of  Gates  against  Coleman.  Sir  Edmondsbury  Godfrey 
was  found  dead,  and  with  every  mark  of  violence,  in  a  field  neai 
London,  and  was  probably  murdered  by  some  fanatical  persons  in 
the  communion  of  the  Church  of  Rome.     But  if  so,  the  murder 


204  PENAL    LAWS   AGAINST    CATHOLICS.  [cHAP.  XIV. 

was  a  great  blunder.  It  was  worse  than  a  crime.  The  whole 
community  were  mad  with  rage  and  fear.  The  old  penal  laws 
were  strictly  enforced  against  the  Catholics.  The  jails  were  filled 
with  victims.  London  wore  the  appearance  of  a  besieged  city. 
The  houses  of  the  Catholics  were  every  where  searched,  and  two 
thousand  of  them  imprisoned.  Posts  were  planted  in  the  streets, 
that  chains  might  be  thrown  across  them  on  the  first  alarm.  The 
military,  the  train  bands,  and  the  volunteers  were  called  out. 
F8rty  thousand  men  were  kept  under  guard  during  the  night. 
Numerous  patrols  paraded  the  streets.  The  gates  of  the  Palace 
were  closed,  and  the  guards  of  the  city  were  doubled.  Gates  was 
pronounced  to  be  the  savior  of  his  country,  lodged  at  Whitehall, 
and  pensioned  with  twelve  hundred  pounds  a  year. 

Then  flowed  more  innocent  blood  than  had  been  shed  for  a  long 
period.  Catholics  who  were  noble,  and  Catholics  who  were  obscure, 
were  alike  judicially  murdered ;  and  the  courts  of  justice,  instead 
of  being  places  of  refuge,  were  disgraced  by  the  foulest  abomi- 
nations. Every  day  new  witnesses  were  produced  of  crimes 
which  never  happened,  and  new  victims  were  offered  up  to  appease 
the  wrath  of  a  prejudiced  people.  Among  these  victims  of  popu- 
lar frenzy  was  the  Earl  of  Stafford,  a  venerable  and  venerated 
nobleman  of  sixty-nine  years  of  age,  against  whom  sufficient  evi- 
dence was  not  found  to  convict  him  ;  and  whose  only  crime  was  in 
being  at  the  head  of  the  Catholic  party.  Yet  he  was  found  guilty 
by  the  House  of  Peers,  fifty-five  out  of  eighty-six  having  voted 
for  his  execution.  He  died  on  the  scaffold,  but  with  the  greatest 
serenity,  forgiving  his  persecutors,  and  compassionating  their  delu- 
sions. A  future  generation,  during  the  xeign  of  George  IV., 
however,  reversed  his  attainder,  and  did  justice  to  his  memory, 
and  restored  his  descendants  to  their  rank  and  fortune. 

If  no  other  illustrious  victims  suffered,  persecution  was  never- 
theless directed  into  other  channels.  Parliament  passed  an  act 
that  no  person  should  sit  in  either  House,  unless  he  had  previously 
taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  supremacy,  and  subscribed  to  the 
declaration  that  the  worship  of  the  Church  of  Rome  was  idolatrous. 
Catholics  were  disabled  from  prosecuting  a  suit  in  any  court  of  law, 
from  receiving  any  legacy,  and  from  acting  as  executors  or  ad- 
ministrators of  estates.    This  horrid  bill,  which  outlawed  the  whole 


CHAP.  XIV.]  PERSECUTION    OF   DISSENTERS.  205 

Catholic  population,  had  repeatedly  miscarried,  but,  under  influ> 
ence  of  the  panic  which  Gates  and  his  confederates  created,  was 
now  triumphantly  passed.  Charles  himself  gave  his  royal  assent, 
because  he  was  afraid  to  stem  the  torrent  of  popular  infatuation. 
And  the  English  nation  permitted  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  to 
elapse  before  the  civil  disabilities  of  the  Catholics  were  removed, 
and  then  only  by  the  most  strenuous  exertions  of  such  a  statesman 
as  Sir  Robert  Peel. 

It  is  some  satisfaction  to  know  that  justice  at  last  overtook  the 
chief  authors  of  this  diabolical  infatuation.  During  the  reign  of 
James  II.,  Gates  and  others  were  punished  as  they  deserved. 
Gates's  credit  gradually  passed  away.  He  was  fined,  imprisoned, 
and  whipped  at  the  pillory  until  life  itself  had  nearly  fled.  He 
died  unlamented  and  detested,  leaving  behind  him,  to  all  posterity, 
an  infamous  notoriety. 

But  the  sufferings  of  the  Catholics,  during  this  reign,  were  more 
than  exceeded  by  the  sufierings  of  Dissenters,  who  were  cruelly 
persecuted.  All  the  various  sects  of  the  Protestants  were  odious  and 
ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  the  king.  They  were  regarded  as  hostile 
in  their  sympathies,  and  treasonable  in  their  designs.  They  were 
fined,  imprisoned,  mutilated,  and  whipped.  An  Act  of  Uniformity 
was  passed,  which  restored  the  old  penal  laws  of  Elizabeth,  and 
which  subjected  all  to  their  penalty  who  did  not  use  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer,  and  adhere  strictly  to  the  ritual  of  the  Church  of 
England.  The  oligarchical  power  of  the  bishops  was  restored,  and 
two  thousand  ministers  were  driven  from  their  livings,  and  com- 
pelled to  seek  a  precarious  support.  Many  other  acts  of  flagrant 
injustice  were  passed  by  a  subservient  parliament,  and  cruelly  car- 
ried into  execution  by  unfeeling  judges.  But  the  religious  perse- 
cution of  dissenters  was  not  consummated  until  the  reign  of  James, 
under  whose  favor  or  direction  the  inhuman  Jeffreys  inflicted  the 
most  atrocious  crimes  which  have  ever  been  committed  under  the 
sanction  of  the  law.  But  these  will  be  more  appropriately  noticed 
under  the  reign  of  James  II.  Charles  was  not  so  cruel  in  his  tem- 
per, or  bigoted  in  his  sentiments,  as  his  brother  James.  He  was 
rather  a  Gallio  than  a  persecutor.  He  would  permit  any  thing, 
rather  than  suffer  himself  to  be  interrupted  in  his  pleasures.  He 
was  governed  by  his  favorites  and  his  women.  He  had  not  suffi- 
18 


206  EXECUTION    OF    RUSSELL    AND    SYDNEY.        [cHAP.  XIV. 

cient  moral  elevation  to  be  earnest  in  any  thing,  even  to  be  a 
bigot  in  religion.  He  vacillated  between  the  infidelity  of  Hobbes 
and  the  superstitions  of  Rome.  He  lived  a  scoffer,  and  died  a 
Catholic.  His  temper  was  easy,  but  so  easy  as  not  to  prevent  the 
persecution  and  ruin  of  his  best  supporters,  when  they  had  become 
odious  to  the  nation.  If  he  was  incapable  of  enmity,  he  was  also 
incapable  of  friendship.  If  he  hated  no  one  with  long-continued 
malignity,  it  was  only  because  it  was  too  much  trouble  to  hate 
perseveringly.  But  he  loved  with  no  more  constancy  than  he 
hated.  He  had  no  patriotism,  and  no  appreciation  of  moral  excel- 
lence. He  would  rather  see  half  of  the  merchants  of  London 
ruined,  and  half  of  the  Dissenters  immured  in  gloomy  prisons,  than 
lose  two  hours  of  inglorious  dalliance  with  one  of  his  numerous 
concubines.  A  more  contemptible  prince  never  sat  on  the  Eng- 
lish throne,  or  one  whose  whole  reign  was  disgraced  by  a  more 
constant  succession  of  political  blunders  and  social  crimes.  And 
yet  he  never  fully  lost  his  popularity,  nor  was  his  reign  felt  to  be 
as  burdensome  as  was  that  of  the  protector,  Cromwell,  thus  show- 
ing how  little  the  moral  excellence  of  rulers  is  ordinarily  appre- 
ciated or  valued  by  a  wilful  or  blinded  generation.  We  love  not 
the  rebukers  of  our  sins,  or  the  opposers  of  our  pleasures.  We 
love  those  who  prophesy  smooth  things,  and  "  cry  peace,  when 
there  is  no  peace."  Such  is  man  in  his  weakness  and  his  degen- 
eracy ;  and  only  an  omnipotent  power  can  change  this  ordinary 
temper  of  the  devotees  to  pleasure  and  inglorious  gains. 

Among  the  saddest  events  during  the  reign  of  Charles,  were  the 
executions  of  Lord  Russell  and  Algernon  Sydney.  They  were 
concerned,  with  a  few  other  great  men,  in  a  conspiracy,  which  had 
for  its  object  the  restoration  of  greater  liberty.  They  contem- 
plated an  insurrection,  known  by  the  name  of  the  Rye  House 
Plot ;  but  it  was  discovered,  and  Russell  and  Sydney  became  mar- 
tyrs. The  former  was  the  son  of  the  Earl  of  Bedford,  and  the 
latter  was  the  brother  of  the  Earl  of  Leicester.  Russell  was  a 
devoted  Churchman,  of  pure  morals,  and  greatly  beloved  by  the 
people.  Sydney  was  a  strenuous  republican,  and  was  opposed  to 
any  particular  form  of  church  government.  He  thought  that 
religion  should  be  like  a  divine  philosophy  in  the  mind,  and  had 
great  veneration  for  the  doctrines  of  Plato.     Nothing  could  save 


CHAP.  XIV.]        MANNERS   AND   CUSTOMS    OF   ENGLAND.  207 

these  illustrious  men.  The  Duke  of  York  and  Jeffreys  declared 
that,  if  they  were  not  executed,  there  would  be  no  safety  for  them- 
selves. They  both  suffered  with  great  intrepidity,  and  the  friends 
of  liberty  have  ever  since  cherished  their  memory  with  peculiar 
fondness. 

Mr.  Macaulay,  in  his  recent  History,  has  presented  the  manners 
and  customs  of  England  during  the  disgraceful  reign  of  Charles  II. 
It  is  impossible,  in  this  brief  survey,  to  allude  to  all  those  customs ; 
but  we  direct  particularly  the  attention  of  readers  to  them,  as 
described  in  his  third  chapter,  from  which  it  would  appear,  that  a 
most  manifest  and  most  glorious  progress  has  been  made  since  that 
period  in  all  the  arts  of  civilization,  both  useful  and  ornamental. 
In  those  times,  travelling  was  difficult  and  slow,  from  the  badness 
of  the  roads  and  the  imperfections  of  the  carriages.  Highway- 
men were  secreted  along  the  thoroughfares,  and,  in  mounted 
troops,  defied  the  law,  and  distressed  the  whole  travelling  com- 
munity. The  transmission  of  letters  by  post  was  tardy  and  unfre- 
quent,  and  the  scandal  of  coffee-houses  supplied  the  greatest  want 
and  the  greatest  luxury  of  modern  times,  the  newspaper.  There 
was  great  scarcity  of  books  in  the  country  places,  and  the  only 
press  in  England  north  of  the  Trent  seems  to  have  been  at  York. 
Literature  was  but  feebly  cultivated  by  country  squires  or  country 
parsons,  and  female  education  was  disgracefully  neglected.  Few 
rich  men  had  libraries  as  large  or  valuable  as  are  now  common  to 
shopkeepers  and  mechanics ;  while  the  literary  stores  of  a  lady 
of  the  manor  were  confined  chiefly  to  the  prayer-book  and  the 
receipt-book.  And  those  works  which  were  produced  or  read  were 
disgraced  by  licentious  ribaldry,  which  had  succeeded  religious 
austerity.  The  drama  was  the  only  department  of  literature  which 
compensated  authors,  and  this  was  scandalous  in  the  extreme. 
We  cannot  turn  over  the  pages  of  one  of  the  popular  dramatists 
of  the  age  without  being  shocked  by  the  most  culpable  indecency. 
Even  Dryden  was  no  exception  to  the  rule  ;  and  his  poetry,  some 
of  which  is  the  most  beautiful  in  the  language,  can  hardly  be  put 
into  the  hands  of  the  young  without  danger  of  corrupting  them. 
Poets  and  all  literary  men  lived  by  the  bounty  of  the  rich  and 
great,  and  prospered  only  as  they  pandered  to  depraved  passions. 
Many,  of  grreat  intellectual  excellence,  died  from  want  and  mortifi- 


*-i08  MILTON  —  DRYDEN.  [cHAP.  XIV. 

cation ;  so  that  tlie  poverty  and  distress  of  literary  men  became 
proverbial,  and  all  worldly-wise  people  shunned  contact  with  them 
as  expensive  and  degrading.  They  were  hunted  from  cocklofts  to 
cellars  by  the  minions  of  the  law,  and  the  foulest  jails  were  often 
their  only  resting-place.  The  restoration  of  Charles  proved  un- 
fortunate to  one  great  and  immortal  genius,  whom  no  temptations 
could  assail,  and  no  rewards  could  bribe.  He  "  possessed  his  soul 
in  patience,'*  and  "  soared  above  the  Aonian  mount,"  amid  general 
levity  and  profligacy.  Had  he  written  for  a  pure,  classic,  and 
learned  age,  he  could  not  have  written  with  greater  moral  beauty. 
But  he  lived  when  no  moral  excellence  was  appreciated,  and  his 
claims  on  the  gratitude  of  the  world  are  beyond  all  estimation, 
when  we  remember  that  he  wrote  with  the  full  consciousness,  like 
the  great  Bacon,  that  his  works  would  only  be  valued  or  read  by 
future  generations.  Milton  was,  indeed,  unmolested  ;  but  he  was 
sadly  neglected  in  his  blindness  and  in  his  greatness.  But,  like  all 
the  great  teachers  of  the  world,  he  was  sustained  by  something 
higher  than  earthly  applause,  and  labored,  like  an  immortal  artist, 
from  the  love  which  his  labor  excited,  —  labored  to  realize  the 
work  of  art  which  his  imagination  had  conceived,  as  well  as  to 
propagate  ideas  and  sentiments  which  should  tend  to  elevate  man- 
kind. Dryden  was  his  contemporary,  but  obtained  a  greater 
homage,  not  because  he  was  more  worthy,  but  because  he  adapted 
his  genius  to  the  taste  of  a  frivolous  and  corrupt  people.  He  after- 
wards wrote  more  unexceptionably,  composed  lyrics  instead  of 
farces,  and  satires  instead  of  plays.  In  his  latter  days,  he  could 
afford  to  write  in  a  purer  style  ;  and,  as  he  became  independent, 
he  reared  the  superstructure  of  his  glorious  fame.  But  Dryden 
spent  the  best  parts  of  his  life  as  a  panderer  to  the  vices  of 
the  town,  and  was  an  idol  chiefly,  in  Wills's  Coffee  House,  of 
lampooners,  and  idlers,  and  scandal-mongers.  Nor  were  there 
many  people,  in  the  church  or  in  the  state,  sufficiently  influential 
and  noble  to  stem  the  torrent.  The  city  clergy  were  the  most 
respectable,  and  the  pulpits  of  London  were  occupied  with  twelve 
men  who  afterwards  became  bishops,  and  who  are  among  the 
great  ornaments  of  the  sacred  literature  of  their  country.  Sher- 
lock, Tillotson,  Wake,  Collier,  Burnet,  Stillingfleet,  Patrick,  Fowl- 
er, Sharp,  Tennison,  and  Beveridge  made  the  Established  Church 


CHAP.  XIV.]  CONDITION    OF   THE   PEOPLE.  209 

respected  in  the  town ;  but  the  country  clergy,  as  a  whole,  were 
ignorant  and  depressed.  Not  one  living  in  fifty  enabled  the 
incumbent  to  bring  up  a  family  comfortably  or  respectably.  The 
clergyman  was  disdained  even  by  the  county  attorney,  was  hardly 
tolerated  at  the  table  of  his  patron,  and  could  scarcely  marry  be- 
yond the  rank  of  a  cook  or  housekeeper.  And  his  poverty  and 
bondage  continued  so  long  that,  in  the  times  of  Swift,  the  parson 
was  a  byword  and  a  jest  among  the  various  servants  in  the  house- 
holds of  the  great.  Still  there  were  eminent  clergymen  amid 
the  general  depression  of  their  order,  both  in  and  out  of  the  Estab- 
lished Church.  Besides  the  London  preachers  were  many  con- 
nected with  the  Universities  and  Cathedrals ;  and  there  were  some 
distinguished  Dissenters,  among  whom  Baxter,  Howe,  and  Alleine, 
if  there  were  no  others,  would  alone  have  made  the  name  of  Puri- 
tan respectable. 

The  saddest  fact,  in  connection  with  the  internal  history  of 
England,  at  this  time,  was  the  condition  of  the  people.  They  had 
small  wages,  and  many  privations.  They  had  no  social  rank,  and 
were  disgraced  by  many  vices.  They  were  ignorant  and  brutal. 
The  wages  of  laborers  only  averaged  four  shillings  a  week,  while 
those  of  mechanics  were  not  equal  to  what  some  ordinarily  earn, 
in  this  country  and  in  these  times,  in  a  single  day.  Both  peasants 
and  artisans  were  not  only  ill  paid,  but  ill  used,  and  they  died, 
miserably  and  prematurely,  from  famine  and  disease.  Nor  did 
sympathy  exist  for  the  misfortunes  of  the  poor.  There  were  no  insti- 
tutions of  public  philanthropy.  Jails  were  uhvisited  by  the  minis- 
ters of  mercy,  and  the  abodes  of  poverty  were  left  by  a  careless 
generation  to  be  dens  of  infamy  and  crime.  Such  was  England 
two  hundred  years  ago ;  and  there  is  no  delusion  more  unwarranted 
by  sober  facts  than  that  which  supposes  that  those  former  times 
were  better  than  our  own,  in  any  thing  which  abridges  the  labors  or 
alleviates  the  miseries  of  mankind.  "  It  is  now  the  fashion  to  place 
the  golden  age  of  England  in  times  when  noblemen  were  destitute 
of  comforts  the  want  of  which  would  be  intolerable  to  a  modern 
footman  ;  when  farmers  and  shopkeepers  breakfasted  on  loaves  the 
very  sight  of  which  would  raise  a  riot  in  a  modem  workhouse ; 
when  men  died  faster  in  the  purest  country  air  than  they  now  die 
in  the  most  pestilential  lanes  of  our  towns ;  and  when  men  died 
,       18*         P 


210  CONDITION    OF    THE   TEOPLE.  [CHA?.  >  IV. 

faster  in  the  lanes  of  our  towns  than  they  now  die  on  the  coast  of 
Guinea.  But  we  too  shall,  in  our  turn,  be  outstripped,  and,  in  (  ir 
turn,  envied.  There  is  constant  improvement,  as  there  also  is 
constant  discontent;  and  future  generations  may  talk  of  the  reign 
of  Queen  Victoria  as  a  time  when  England  was  truly  merry  Eng- 
land, when  all  classes  were  bound  together  by  brotherly  sympa- 
thy, when  the  rich  did  not  grind  the  faces  of  the  poor,  and  when 
the  poor  did  not  envy  the  splendor  of  the  rich." 


References.  —  Of  all  the  works  which  have  yet  appeared,  respecting 
this  interesting  epoch,  the  now  Historj-^  of  Macaulay  is  the  most  brilliant 
and  instructive.  Indeed,  the  student  scarcely  needs  any  other  history,  in 
spite  of  Macaulay's  Whig  doctrines.  lie  may  sacrifice  something  to  effect ; 
and  he  may  give  us  pictures,  instead  of  philosophy ;  but,  nevertheless,  his 
book  has  transcendent  merit,  and  will  be  read,  by  all  classes,  so  long  as 
English  history  is  prized.  Mackintosh's  fragment,  on  the  same  period,  is 
more  philosophical,  and  possesses  very  great  merits.  Lingard's  History  is 
very  valuable  on  this  reign,  and  should  be  consulted.  Hume,  also,  will 
never  cease  to  please.  Burnet  is  a  prejudiced  historian,  but  his  work  is 
an  authority.  The  lives  of  Milton,  Dryden,  and  Clarendon  should  also  be 
read  in  this  connection.  Hallam  has  but  treated  the  constitutional  history 
of  these  times.  See  also  Temple's  Works ;  the  ■  Life  of  William  Lord 
Russell ;  Rapin's  History.  Pepys,  Dalrj^mple,  Rymeri  Foedera,  the  Com- 
mons' Journal,  and  the  Howell  State  Trials  are  not  easily  accessible, 
and  not  necessary,  except  to  the  historian. 


CHAP.  XV.]  ACCESSION    OF   JAMES    II.  211 


CHAPTER    XV. 

REIGN  OF  JAMES  II. 

Charles  II.  died  on  the  6th  of  February,  1685,  and  his  broth- 
er, the  Duke  of  York,  ascended  his  throne,  without  opposition,  under 
the  title  of  James  11.  As  is  usual  with  princes,  on  their  accession, 
he  made  many  promises  of  ruling  by  the  laws,  and  of  defending 
the  liberties  of  the  nation.  And  he  commenced  his  administration 
under  good  auspices.  The  country  was  at  peace,  he  was  not 
unpopular,  and  all  classes  and  parties  readily  acquiesced  in  his 
government. 

He  retained  all  the  great  officers  who  had  served  under  his 
brother  that  he  could  trust ;  and  Rochester  became  prime  minister, 
Sunderland  kept  possession  of  the  Seals,  and  Godolphin  was  made 
lord  chamberlain.  He  did  not  dismiss  Halifax,  Ormond,  or  Guild- 
ford, although  he  disliked  and  distrusted  them,  but  abridged  their 
powers,  and  mortified  them  by  neglect. 

The  Commons  voted  him  one  million  two  hundred  thousand 
pounds,  and  the  Scottish  parliament  added  twenty-five  thousand 
pounds  more,  and  the  Customs  for  life.  But  this  sum  he  .did  not 
deem  sufficient  for  his  wants,  and  therefore,  like  his  brother,  ap- 
plied for  aid  to  Louis  XIV.,  and  consented  to  become  his  pensioner 
and  vassal,  and  for  the  paltry  sum  of  two  hundred  thousand 
pounds.  James  received  the  money  with  tears  of  gratitude,  hoping 
by  this  infamous  pension  to  rule  the  nation  without  a  parliament. 
It  was  not,  of  course,  known  to  the  nation,  or  even  to  his  ministers, 
generally. 

He  was  scarcely  crowned  before  England  was  invaded  by  the 
Duke  of  Monmouth,  natural  son  of  Charles  II.,  and  Scotland  by  the 
Duke  of  Argyle,  with  a  view  of  ejecting  James  from  the  throne. 

Both  these  noblemen  were  exiles  in  Holland,  and  both  were 

justly  obnoxious  to  the  government  for  their  treasonable  intentions 

and  acts.     Argyle  was  loath  to  engage  in  an  enterprise  so  desperate 

as  the  conquest  of  England  ;  but  he  was  an  enthusiast,  was  at  the 

/ 


212  MONMOUTH    LANDS   IN    ENGLAND.  [cHAP.    XV. 

head  of  the  most  powerful  of  the  Scottish  clans,  the  Campbells, 
and  he  hoped  for  a  general  rising  throughout  Scotland,  to  put 
down  what  was  regarded  as  idolatry,  and  to  strike  a  blow  for 
liberty  and  the  Kirk. 

Having  concerted  his  measures  with  Monmouth,  he  set  sail  from 
Holland,  the  2d  of  May,  1685,  in  spite  of  all  the  efforts  of  the 
English  minister,  and  landed  at  Kirkwall,  one  of  the  Orkney 
Islands.  But  his  objects  were  well  known,  and  the  whole  militia 
of  the  land  were  put  under  arms  to  resist  him.  He,  however, 
collected  a  force  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  Highlanders,  and 
marched  towards  Glasgow;  but  he  was  miserably  betrayed  and 
deserted.  His  forces  were  dispersed,  and  he  himself  was  seized 
while  attemptmg  to  escape  in  disguise,  brought  to  Edinburgh, 
and  beheaded.  His  followers  were  treated  with  great  harshness, 
but  the  rebellion  was  completely  suppressed. 

Monmouth  had  agreed  to  sail  in  six  days  from  the  departure 
of  Argyle  ;  but  he  lingered  at  Brussels,  loath  to  part  from  a  beau- 
tiful mistress,  the  Lady  Henrietta  Wentworth.  It  was  a  month 
before  he  set  sail  from  the  Texel,  with  about  eighty  officers  and 
one  hundred  and  fifty  followers  —  a  small  force  to  overturn  the 
throne.  But  he  relied  on  his  popularity  with  the  people,  and  on 
a  false  and  exaggerated  account  of  the  unpopularity  of  James. 
He  landed  at  Lyme,  in  Dorsetshire,  about  the  middle  of  June,  and 
forthwith  issued  a  flaming  proclamation,  inviting  all  to  join  his 
standard,  as  a  deliverer  from  the  cruel  despotism  of  a  Catholic 
prince,  whom  he  accused  of  every  crime  —  of  the  burning  of 
London,  of  the  Popish  Plot,  of  the  condemnation  of  Russell  and 
Sydney,  of  poisoning  the  late  king,  and  of  infringements  on  the 
constitution.  In  this  declaration,  falsehood  was  mingled  with  truth, 
but  well  adapted  to  inflame  the  passions  of  the  people.  He  was 
supported  by  many  who  firmly  believed  that  his  mother,  Lucy 
Walters,  was  the  lawful  wife  of  Charles  II.  He,  of  course, 
claimed  the  English  throne,  but  professed  to  waive  his  rights  until 
they  should  be  settled  by  a  parliament.  The  adventurer  grossly 
misunderstood  the  temper  of  the  people,  and  the  extent  to  which 
his  claims  were  recognized.  He  was  unprovided  with  money,  with 
generals,  and  with  troops.  He  collected  a  few  regiments  from  the 
common  people,  and  advanced  to  Somersetshire.     At  Taunton  his 


CHAP.  XV.]  BATTLE  OF  SEDGEMOOR.  213 

reception  was  flattering.  All  classes  welcomed  him  as  a  deliverer 
from  Heaven,  and  the  poor  rent  the  air  with  acclamations  and 
shouts.  His  path  was  strewed  with  flowers,  and  the  windows  were 
crowded  with  ladies,  who  waived  their  handkerchiefs,  and  even 
waited  upon  him  with  a  large  deputation.  Twenty-six  lovely 
maidens  presented  the  handsome  son  of  Charles  II.  with  standards 
and  a  Bible,  which  he  kissed,  and  promised  to  defend. 

But  all  this  enthusiasm  was  soon  to  end.  The  Duke  of  Albe- 
marle—  the  son  of  General  Monk,  who  restored  Charles  II. — 
advanced  against  him  with  the  militia  of  the  country,  and  Mon- 
mouth was  supported  only  by  the  vulgar,  the  weak,  and  the 
credulous.  Not  a  single  nobleman  joined  his  standard,  and  but 
few  of  the  gentry.  He  made  innumerable  blunders.  He  lost 
time  by  vain  attempts  to  drill  the  peasants  and  farmers  who 
followed  his  fortunes.  He  slowly  advanced  to  the  west  of 
England,  where  he  hoped  to  be  joined  by  the  body  of  the  people. 
But  all  men  of  station  and  influence  stood  aloof.  Discouraged 
and  dismayed,  he  reached  Wells,  and  pushed  forward  to  capture 
Bristol,  then  the  second  city  in  the  kingdom.  He  was  again 
disappointed.  He  was  forced,  from  unexpected  calamities,  to 
abandon  the  enterprise.  He  then  turned  his  eye  to  Wilts  ;  but 
when  he  arrived  at  the  borders  of  the  county,  he  found  that  none 
of  the  bodies  on  which  he  had  calculated  had  made  their  appear- 
ance. At  Phillips  Norton  was  a  slight  skirmish,  which  ended 
favorably  to  Monmouth,  in  which  the  young  Duke  of  Grafton, 
natural  son  of  Charles  II.,  distinguished  himself  against  his  half 
brother ;  but  Monmouth  was  discouraged,  and  fell  back  to  Bridge- 
water.  Meanwhile  the  royal  army  approached,  and  encamped  at 
Sedgemoor.  Here  was  fought  a  decisive  battle,  which  was  fatal 
to  the  rebels,  "the  last  deserving  the  name  of  battle.,  that  has 
been  fought  on  English  ground."  Monmouth,  when  all  was 
lost,  fled  from  the  field,  and  hastened  to  the  British  Channel, 
hoping  to  gain  the  Continent.  He  was  found  near  the  New 
Forest,  hidden  in  a  ditch,  exhausted  by  hunger  and  fatigue. 
He  was  sent,  under  a  strong  guard,  to  Ringwood ;  and  all  that  was 
left  him  was,  to  prepare  to  meet  the  death  of  a  rebel.  But  he 
clung  to  life,  so  justly  forfeited,  with  singular  tenacity.  He 
abjectly  and  meanly  sued  for  pardon  from  that  inexorable  tyrant. 


214  DEATH    OF    MONMOUTH.  [cHAP.  XV. 

who  never  forgot  or  forgave  the  slightest  resistance  from  a  friend, 
when  even  that  resistance  was  lawful,  much  less  rebellion  from  a 
man  he  both  hated  and  despised.  He  was  transferred  to  London, 
lodged  in  the  Tower,  and  executed  in  a  bungling  manner  by 
"Jack  Ketch"  —  the  name  given  for  several  centuries  to  the  pub- 
lic executioner.  He  was  buried  under  St.  Peter's  Chapel,  in  the 
Tower,  where  reposed  the  headless  bodies  of  so  many  noted  saints 
and  political  martyrs  —  the  great  Somerset,  and  the  still  greater 
Northumberland,  the  two  Earls  of  Essex,  and  the  fourth  Duke  of 
Norfolk,  and  other  great  men  who  figured  in  the  reigns  of  the 
Plantagenets  and  the  Tudors. 

Monmouth's  rebellion  was  completely  suppressed,  and  a  most 
signal  vengeance  was  inflicted  on  all  who  were  concerned  in  it. 
No  mercy  was  shown,  on  the  part  of  government,  to  any  party 
or  person. 

Of  the  agents  of  James  in  punishing  all  concemeid  in  the 
rebellion,  there  were  two,  preeminently,  whose  names  are  con- 
signed to  an  infamous  immortality.  The  records  of  English 
history  contain  no  two  names  so  loathsome  and  hateful  as  Colonel 
Kirke  and  Judge  JeflTreys. 

The  former  was  left,  by  Feversham,  in  command  of  the  royal 
forces  at  Bridgewater,  after  the  battle  of  Sedgemoor.  He  had 
already  gained  an  unenviable  notoriety,  as  governor  of  Tangier, 
where  he  displayed  the  worst  vices  of  a  tyrant  and  a  sensualist ; 
and  his  regiment  had  imitated  him  in  his  disgraceful  brutality.  But 
this  leader  and  these  troops  were  now  let  loose  on  the  people  of 
Somersetshire.  One  hundred  captives  were  put  to  death  during 
the  week  which  succeeded  the  battle.  His  irregular  butcheries, 
however,  were  not  according  to  the  taste  of  the  king.  A  more 
systematic  slaughter,  under  the  sanctions  of  the  law,  was  devised, 
and  Jeffreys  was  sent  into  the  Western  Circuit,  to  try  the  numer- 
ous persons  who  were  immured  in  the  jails  of  the  western  counties. 

Sir  George  Jeffreys,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Court  of  the  King's 
Bench,  was  not  deficient  in  talent,  but  was  constitutionally  the 
victim  of  violent  passions.  He  first  attracted  notice  as  an  insolent 
barrister  at  the  Old  Bailey  Court,  who  had  a  rare  tact  in  cross- 
examining  criminals  and  browbeating  witnesses.  According  to 
Macaulay,  "  impudence  and  ferocity  sat  upon  his  brow,  while  all 


CHAP.  XY.]  BRUTALITY  OF  JEFFREYS.  215 

tenderness  for  the  feelings  of  others,  all  self-respect,  all  sense  of 
the  becoming,  were  obliterated  from  his  mind.  He  acquired  a 
boundless  command  of  the  rhetoric  in  which  the  vulgar  express 
hatred  and  contempt.  The  profusion  of  his  maledictions  could 
hardly  be  rivalled  in  the  Fish  Market  or  Bear  Garden.  His  yell 
of  fury  sounded,  as  one  who  often  heard  it  said,  like  the  thunder 
of  the  judgment  day.  He  early  became  common  serjeant,  and 
then  recorder  of  London.  As  soon  as  he  obtained  all  the  city 
could  give,  he  made  haste  to  sell  his  forehead  of  brass  and  his 
tongue  of  venom  to  the  court."  He  was  just  the  man  whom  Charles 
II.  wanted  as  a  tool.  He  was  made  chief  justice  of  the  highest 
court  of  criminal  law  in  the  realm,  and  discharged  its  duties  en- 
tirely to  the  satisfaction  of  a  king  resolved  on  the  subjection  of  the 
English  nation.  His  violence,  at  all  times,  was  frightful ;  but  when 
he  was  drunk,  it  was  terrific :  and  he  was  generally  intoxicated. 
His  first  exploit  was  the  judicial  murder  of  Algernon  Sydney. 
On  the  death  of  Charles,  he  obtained  from  James  a  peerage,  and 
a  seat  in  the  Cabinet,  a  signal  mark  of  royal  approbation.  In 
prospect  of  yet  greater  honors,  he  was  ready  to  do  whatever  James 
required.  James  wished  the  most  summary  vengeance  inflicted 
on  the  rebels,  and  Jeffreys,  with  his  tiger  ferocity,  was  ready  to 
execute  his  will. 

Nothing  is  more  memorable  than  those  "  bloody  assizes  "  which 
he  held  in  those  counties  through  which  Monmouth  had  passed. 
Nothing  is  remembered  with  more  execration.  Nothing  ever 
equalled  the  brutal  cruelty  of  the  judge.  His  fury  seemed  to  be 
directed  with  peculiar  violence  upon  the  Dissenters.  "  Show  me," 
said  he,  "  a  Presbyterian,  and  I  will  show  thee  a  lying  knave. 
Presbyterianism  has  all  manner  of  villany  in  it.  There  is  not  one 
of  those  lying,  snivelling,  canting  Presbyterians,  but,  one  way  or 
another,  has  had  a  hand  in  the  rebellion."  He  sentenced  nearly 
all  who  were  accused,  to  be  hanged  or  burned  ;  and  the  excess  of 
his  barbarities  called  forth  pity  and  indignation  even  from  devoted 
loyalists.  He  boasted  that  he  had  hanged  more  traitors  than  all 
his  predecessors  together  since  the  Conquest.  On  a  single 
circuit,  he  hanged  three  hundred  and  fifty  ;  some  of  these  were 
people  of  great  worth,  and  many  of  them  were  innocent ;  while 
many  whom  he  spared  from  an  ignominious  death,  were  sentenced 


216  PERSECUTION    OF   THE    DISSENTERS.  [CHAP.  JCV. 

to  the  most  cruel  punishments  —  to  the  lash  of  the  pillory,  to  Im- 
prisonment in  tlie  foulest  jails,  to  mutilation,  to  banishment,  and  to 
heavy  fines. 

King  James  watched  the  conduct  of  the  inhuman  Jeffreys 
with  delight,  and  rewarded  him  with  the  Great  Seal.  The  Old 
Bailey  lawyer  had  now  climbed  to  the  greatest  height  to  which  a 
subject  could  aspire.  He  was  Lord  Chancellor  of  England  —  the 
confidential  friend  and  agent  of  the  king,  and  his  unscrupulous 
instrument  in  imposing  the  yoke  of  bondage  on  an  insulted  nation. 

At  this  period,  the  condition  of  the  Puritans  was  deplorable. 
At  no  previous  time  was  persecution  more  inveterate,  not  even 
under  the  administration  of  Laud  and  Strafford.  The  persecution 
commenced  soon  after  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.,  and  increased 
in  malignity  until  the  elevation  of  Jeffreys  to  the  chancellorship. 
The  sufferings  of  no  class  of  sectaries  bore  any  proportion  to  theirs. 
They  found  it  difficult  to  meet  together  for  prayer  or  exhortation, 
even  in  the  smallest  assemblies.  Their  ministers  were  introduced 
in  disguise.  Their  houses  were  searched.  They  were  fined,  im- 
prisoned, and  banished.  Among  the  ministers  who  were  deprived 
of  their  livings,  were  Gilpin,  Bates,  Howe,  Owen,  Baxter,  Calamy, 
Poole,  Charnock,  and  Flavel,  who  still,  after  a  lapse  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years,  enjoy  a  wide-spread  reputation  as  stan- 
dard writers  on  theological  subjects.  These  great  lights  of  the 
seventeenth  century  were  doomed  to  privation  and  poverty,  with 
thousands  of  their  brethren,  most  of  whom  had  been  educated  at 
the  Universities,  and  were  among  the  best  men  in  the  kingdom. 
All  the  Stuart  kings  hated  the  Dissenters,  but  none  hated  them  more 
than  Charles  II.  and  James  II.  Under  their  sanction,  complying 
parliaments  passed  repeated  acts  of  injustice  and  cruelty.  The  laws 
which  were  enacted  during  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign  were  reenacted 
and  enforced.  The  Act  of  Uniformity,  in  one  day,  ejected  two 
thousand  ministers  from  their  parishes,  because  they  refused  to 
conform  to  the  standard  of  the  Established  Church.  The  Con- 
venticle Act  ordained  that  if  any  person,  above  sixteen  years 
of  age,  should  be  present  at  any  religious  meeting,  in  any 
other  manner  than  allowed  by  the  Church  of  England,  he 
should  suffer  three  months'  imprisonment,  or  pay  a  fine  of  five 
pounds ;  that  six  months'  imprisonment  and  ten  pounds  fine  should 


CHAP.  XV.]  PERSECUTION    OF    THE    DISSENTERS.  217 

he  inflicted  as  a  penalty  for  the  second  offence,  and  banishment 
for  the  third.  Married  women,  taken  at  "  conventicles,"  were 
sentenced  to  twelve  months'  imprisonment.  It  is  calculated  that 
twenty-five  thousand  Dissenters  were  immured  in  gloomy  prisons, 
and  that  four  thousand  of  the  sect  of  the  Quakers  died  during  their 
imprisonment  in  consequence  of  the  filth  and  malaria  of  the  jails, 
added  to  cruel  treatment. 

Among  the  illustrious  men  who  suffered  most  unjustly,  was 
Richard  Baxter,  the  glory  of  the  Presbyterian  party.  He 
was  minister  at  Kidderminster,  where  he  was  content  to  labor 
in  an  humble  sphere,  having  refused  a  bishopric.  He  had 
written  one  hundred  and  forty-five  distinct  treatises,  in  two 
hundred  volumes,  which  were  characterized  for  learning  and 
talent.  But  neither  his  age,  nor  piety,  nor  commanding  virtues 
could  screen  him  from  the  cruelties  of  Jeffreys ;  and,  in  fifteen 
years,  he  was  five  times  imprisoned.  His  sufferings  drew  tears 
from  Sir  Matthew  Hale,  with  whose  friendship  he  had  been  hon- 
ored. "  But  he  who  had  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the  best  of 
judges,  was  cruelly  insulted  by  the  worst."  When  he  wished  to 
plead  his  cause,  the  drunken  chief  justice  replied,  "  O  Richard, 
Richard,  thou  art  an  old  fellow  and  an  old  knave.  Thou  hast  writ- 
ten books  enough  to  load  a  cart,  every  one  of  which  is  as  full  of 
sedition  as  an  egg  is  full  of  meat.  I  know  that  thou  hast  a  mighty 
party,  and  I  see  a  great  many  of  the  brotherhood  in  corners,  and 
a  doctor  of  divinity  at  your  elbow ;  but,  by  the  grace  of  God,  I 
will  crush  you  all." 

Entirely  a  different  man  was  John  Bunyan,  not  so  influential 
or  learned,  but  equally  worthy.  He  belonged  to  the  sect  of  the 
Baptists,  and  stands  at  the  head  of  all  unlettered  men  of  genius  — 
the  most  successful  writer  of  allegory  that  any  age  has  seen. 
The  Pilgrim's  Progress  is  the  most  popular  religious  work  ever 
published,  full  of  genius  and  beauty,  and  a  complete  exhibition  of 
the  Calvinistic  theology,  and  the  experiences  of  the  Christian  life. 
This  book  shows  the  triumph  of  genius  over  learning,  and  the 
people's  appreciation  of  exalted  merit.  Its  author,  an  illiterate 
tinker,  a  travelling  preacher,  who  spent  the  best  part  of  his  life 
between  the  houses  of  the  poor  and  the  county  jails,  the  object 
of  reproach  and  ignominy,  now,  however,  takes  a  proud  place,  iu 
19 


218  GEORGE    FOX.  [cHAP.  XV. 

the  world's  estimation,  with  the  master  minds  of  all  nations  —  with 
Dante,  Shakspearc,  and  Milton.  He  has  arisen  above  the  preju- 
dices of  the  great  and  fashionable  ;  and  the  learned  and  aristocratic 
Southey  has  sought  to  be  the  biographer  of  his  sorrows  and  the 
expounder  of  his  visions.  The  proud  bishops  who  disdained  him, 
the  haughty  judges  who  condemned  him,  are  now  chiefly  known 
as  his  persecutors,  while  he  continues  to  be  more  honored  and 
extolled  with  every  succeeding  generation. 

Another  illustrious  victim  of  religious  persecution  in  that  age, 
illustrious  in  our  eyes,  but  ignoble  in  the  eyes  of  his  contempora- 
ries, was  George  Fox,  the  founder  of  the  sect  of  the  Quakers.  He, 
like  Bunyan,  was  of  humble  birth  and  imperfect  education.  Like 
him,  he  derived  his  knowledge  from  communion  with  his  own  soul  — 
from  inward  experiences — from  religious  contemplations.  He  was 
a  man  of  vigorous  intellect,  and  capable  of  intense  intellectual 
action.  His  first  studies  were  the  mysteries  of  theology  —  the 
great  questions  respecting  duty  and  destiny ;  and  these  agitated  his 
earnest  mind  almost  to  despair.  In  his  anxiety,  he  sought  conso- 
lation from  the  clergy,  but  they  did  not  remove  the  burdens  of  his 
soul.  Like  an  old  Syriac  monk,  he  sought  the  fields  and  unfre- 
quented solitudes,  where  he  gave  loose  to  his  imagination,  and 
where  celestial  beings  came  to  comfort  him.  He  despised  alike 
the  reasonings  of  philosophers,  the  dogmas  of  divines,  and  the 
disputes  of  wrangling  sectarians.  He  rose  above  all  their  preju- 
dices, and  sought  light  and  truth  from  original  sources.  His  peace 
was  based  on  the  conviction  that  God's  Holy  Spirit  spoke  directly 
to  his  soul ;  and  this  was  above  reason,  above  authority,  a  surer 
guide  than  any  outward  or  written  revelation.  While  this  divine 
voice  was  above  the  Scriptures,  it  never  conflicted  with  them,  for 
they  were  revealed  also  to  inspired  men.  Hence  the  Scriptures 
were  not  to  be  disdained,  but  were  to  be  a  guide,  and  literally  to 
be  obeyed.  He  would  not  swear,  or  fight,  to  save  his  life,  nor  to 
save  a  world,  because  he  was  directly  commanded  to  abstain  from 
swearing  and  fighting.  He  abhorred  all  principles  of  expediency, 
and  would  do  right,  or  what  the  inspired  voice  within  him  assured 
him  to  be  right,  regardless  of  all  consequences  and  all  tribulations. 
He  believed  in  the  power  of  justice  to  protect  itself,  and  reposed  on 
the  moral  dignity  of  virtue.     Love,  to  his  mind,  was  an  omnipotent 


CHAP.  XV.]       PERSECUTION  OF  THE  QUAKERS.  219 

weapon.  ,  He  disdained  force  to  accomplish  important  ends,  and 
sought  no  control  over  government,  except  by  intelligence.  He 
believed  that  ideas  and  truth  alone  were  at  the  basis  of  all  great 
and  permanent  revolutions;  these  he  was  ever  ready  to  de- 
clare ;  these  were  sure  to  produce,  in  the  end,  all  needed  reforms  ; 
these  would  be  revealed  to  the  earnest  inquirer.  He  disliked  all 
forms  and  pompous  ceremonials  in  the  worship  of  God,  for  they 
seemed  useless  and  idolatrous.  God  was  a  Spirit,  and  to  be  wor- 
shipped in  spirit  and  in  truth.  And  set  singing  was  to  be  dispensed 
with,  like  set  forms  of  prayer,  and  only  edifying  as  prompted  by 
the  Spirit.  He  even  objected  to  splendid  places  for  the  worship  of 
God,  and  dispensed  with  steeples,  and  bells,  and  organs.  The 
sacraments,  too,  were  needless,  being  mere  symbols,  or  shadows 
of  better  things,  not  obligatory,  but  to  be  put  on  the  same  footing 
as  those  Jewish  ceremonies  which  the  Savior  abrogated.  The 
mind  of  Fox  discarded  all  aids  to  devotion,  all  titles  of  honor,  all 
distinctions  which  arose  in  pride  and  egotism.  Hypocrisy  he  ab- 
horred with  his  whole  soul.  It  was  the  vice  of  the  Pharisees,  on 
whom  Christ  denounced  the  severest  judgments.  He,  too,  would 
denounce  it  with  the  most  unsparing  severity,  whenever  he  fancied 
he  detected  it  in  rulers,  or  in  venerated  dignitaries  of  the  church, 
or  in  the  customs  of  conventional  life.  He  sought  simplicity  and 
sincerity  in  all  their  forms.  Truth  alone  should  be  his  polar  star,  and 
this  would  be  revealed  by  the  "  inner  light,"  the  peculiar  genius  of  his 
whole  system,  which,  if  it  led  to  many  new  views  of  duty  and 
holiness,  yet  was  the  cause  of  many  delusions,  and  the  parent  of 
conceit  and  spiritual  pride  —  the  grand  peculiarity  of  fanaticism 
in  all  ages  and  countries.  What  so  fruitful  a  source  of  error  as 
the  notion  of  special  divine  illumination  } 

No  wonder  that  Fox  and  his  followers  were  persecuted,  for  they 
set  at  nought  the  wisdom  of  the  world  and  the  customs  and  laws 
of  ages.  They  shocked  all  conservative  minds ;  all  rulers  and 
dignitaries  ;  all  men  attached  to  systems  ;  all  syllogistic  reasoners 
and  dialectical  theologians ;  all  fashionable  and  worldly  people ; 
all  sects  and  parties  attached  to  creeds  and  forms.  Neither  their 
inoffensive  lives,  nor  their  doctrine  of  non-resistance,  nor  their  ele- 
vated spiritualism  could  screen  them  from  the  wrath  of  judges, 
bishops,  and  legislators.     They  were  imprisoned,  fined,  whipped, 


220  DESPOTIC    POWER    OF   JAMES.  [cHAP.  XV. 

and  lacerated  without  mercy.  But  they  endured  their  afflictions 
with  patience,  and  never  lost  their  faith  in  truth,  or  their  trust  in 
God.  Generally,  they  belonged  to  the  humbler  classes,  although 
some  men  illustrious  for  birtli  and  wealth  joined  their  persecuted 
ranks,  the  most  influential  of  whom  was  William  Penn,  who  lived 
to  be  their  intercessor  and  protector,  and  the  glorious  founder  and 
legislator  of  one  of  the  most  flourishing  and  virtuous  colonies  that, 
m  those  days  of  tribulation,  settled  in  the  wilderness  of  North 
America ;  a  colony  of  men  who  were  true  to  their  enlightened 
principles,  and  who  were  saved  from  the  murderous  tomahawk  of 
the  Indian,  when  all  other  settlements  were  scenes  of  cruelty  and 
vengeance. 

James  had  now  suppressed  rebellion ;  he  had  filled  the  Dissenters 
with  fear ;  and  he  met  with  no  resistance  from  his  parliaments. 
The  judges  and  the  bishops  were  ready  to  cooperate  with  his  min- 
isters in  imposing  a  despotic  yoke.  All  officers  of  the  crown  were 
dismissed  the  moment  they  dissented  from  his  policy,  or  protested 
against  his  acts.  Even  judges  were  removed  to  make  way  for  the 
most  unscrupulous  of  tools. 

His  power,  to  all  appearance,  was  consolidated ;  and  he  now 
began,  without  disguise,  to  advance  the  two  great  objects  which 
were  dearest  to  his  heart  —  the  restoration  of  the  Catholic  religion, 
and  the  imposition  of  a  despotic  yoke.  He  wished  to  be,  like 
Louis  XIV.,  a  despotic  and  absolute  prince  ;  and,  to  secure  this 
end,  he  was  ready  to  violate  the  constitution  of  his  country.  The 
three  inglorious  years  of  his  reign  were  a  succession  of  encroach- 
ments and  usurpations. 

Indeed,  among  his  first  acts  was  the  collection  of  the  revenue 
without  an  act  of  parliament.  To  cover  this  stretch  of  arbitrary 
power,  the  court  procured  addresses  from  public  bodies,  in  which 
the  king  was  thanked  for  the  royal  care  he  extended  to  the  customs 
and  excise. 

In  order  to  protect  the  Catholics,  who  had  been  persecuted  under 
the  last  reign,  he  was  obliged  to  show  regard  to  other  perse.cuted 
bodies.  So  he  issued  a  warrant,  releasing  from  confinement  all 
who  were  imprisoned  for  conscience'  sake.  Had  he  simply  desired 
universal  toleration,  this  act  would  merit  our  highest  praises  ;  but 
it  was  soon  evident  that  he  wished  to  elevate  the  Catholics  at  the 


CHAP.  XV.]      FAVOR  EXTENDED  TO  CATHOLICS.  221 

expense  of  all  the  rest.  James  was  a  sincere  but  bigoted  devotee 
to  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  all  things  were  deemed  lawful,  if  he 
could  but  advance  the  interests  of  a  party,  to  which  nearly 
the  whole  nation  was  bitterly  opposed.  Roman  Catholics  were 
proscribed  by  the  laws.  The  Test  Act  excluded  from  civil  and 
military  office  all  who  dissented  from  the  Established  Church.  The 
laws  were  unjust,  but  still  they  were  the  laws  which  James  had 
sworn  to  obey.  Had  he  scrupulously  observed  them,  and  kept  his 
faith,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  would,  in  good  time,  have 
been  modified. 

But  James  would  not  wait  for  constitutional  measures.  He 
resolved  to  elevate  Catholics  to  the  highest  offices  of  both  the  state 
and  the  church,  and  this  in  defiance  of  the  laws  and  of  the  wishes 
of  a  great  majority  of  the  nation.  He  accordingly  gave  commis- 
sions to  Catholics  to  serve  as  officers  in  the  army  ;  he  made  Catho- 
lics his  confidential  advisers ;  he  introduced  Jesuits  into  London  ; 
he  received  a  Papal  nuncio,  and  he  offered  the  livings  of  the  Church 
of  England  to  needy  Catholic  adventurers.  He  sought,  by  threats 
and  artifices,  to  secure  the  repeal  of  the  Test  Act,  by  which 
Catholics  were  excluded  from  office.  Halifax,  the  ablest  of  his 
ministers,  remonstrated,  and  ^e  was  turned  out  of  his  employ- 
ments. But  he  formed  the  soul  and  the  centre  of  an  opposition, 
which  finally  drove  the  king  from  his  throne.  He  united  with 
Devonshire  and  other  Whig  nobles,  and  their  influence  was  suffi- 
cient to  defeat  many  cherished  objects  of  the  king.  When  oppo- 
sition appeared,  however,  in  parliament,  it  was  prorogued  or 
dissolved,  and  the  old  courses  of  the  Stuart  kings  were  resorted  to. 

Among  his  various  acts  of  infringement,  which  gave  great  scan- 
dal, even  in  those  degenerate  times,  was  the  abuse  of  the  dis- 
pensing power  —  a  prerogative  he  had  inherited,  but  which  had 
never  been  strictly  defined.  By  means  of  this,  he  intended  to 
admit  Catholics  to  all  offices  in  the  realm.  He  began  by  grant- 
ing to  the  whole  Roman  Catholic  body  a  dispensation  from  all 
the  statutes  which  imposed  penalties  and  tests.  A  general  indul- 
gence was  proclaimed,  and  the  courts  of  law  were  compelled  to 
acknowledge  that  the  right  of  dispensing  had  not  been  infringed. 
Four  of  the  judges  refused  to  accede  to  what  was  plainly  illegal. 
They  were  dismissed  ;  for,  at  that  time,  even  judges  held  office 
19* 


222  HIGH   COIOIISSION    COURT.  [cHAP.  XV. 

during  the  pleasure  of  the  king,  and  not,  as  in  these  times,  for  Hfe. 
They  had  not  the  independence  which  has  ever  been  so  requisite 
for  the  bench.  Nor  would  all  his  counsellors  and  ministers  accede 
to  his  design,  and  those  who  were  refmctory  were  turned  out.  As 
soon  as  a  servile  bench  of  judges  recognized  this  outrage  on  the 
constitution,  four  Catholic  noblemen  were  admitted  as  privy  coun- 
sellors, and  some  clergymen,  converted  to  Romanism,  were  per- 
mitted to  hold  their  livings.  James  even  bestowed  the  deanery 
of  Christ  Church,  one  of  the  highest  dignilies  in  the  University  of 
Oxford,  on  a  notorious  Catholic,  and  threatened  to  do  at  Cambridge 
what  had  been  done  at  Oxford.  The  bishopric  of  Oxford  was 
bestowed  upon  Parker,  who  was  more  Catholic  than  Protestant, 
and  that  of  Chester  was  given  to  a  sycophant  of  no  character. 
James  made  no  secret  of  his  intentions  to  restore  the  Catholic 
religion,  and  systematically  labored  to  destroy  the  Established 
Church.  In  order  to  effect  this,  he  created  a  tribunal,  which  not 
materially  differed  from  the  celebrated  High  Commission  Court  of 
Elizabeth,  and  to  break  up  which  was  one  great  object  of  the  rev- 
olutionists who  brought  Charles  I.  to  the  block  —  the  most  odious 
court  ever  established  by  royal  despotism  in  England.  The  mem- 
bers of  this  High  Commission  Court,  which  James  instituted  to  try 
all  ecclesiastical  cases,  were,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  noto- 
riously the  most  venal  and  tyrannical  of  all  his  agents  —  Jeffreys, 
the  Chancellor ;  Crewe,  Bishop  of  Durham  ;  Sprat,  Bishop  of  Roch- 
ester ;  the  Earl  of  Rochester,  Lord  Treasurer ;  Sunderland,  the 
Lord  President ;  and  Herbert,  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench. 
This  court  summoned  Compton,  the  Bishop  of  London,  to  its  tri- 
bunal, because  he  had  not  suspended  Dr.  Sharp,  one  of  the  clergy 
of  London,  when  requested  to  do  so  by  the  king  —  a  man  who  had 
committed  no  crime,  but  simply  discharged  his  duty  with  fidelity. 
The  bishop  was  suspended  from  his  spiritual  functions,  and  the 
charge  of  his  diocese  was  committed  to  two  of  his  judges.  But  this 
court,  not  content  with  depriving  numerous  clerp:;\^men  of  their 
spiritual  functions,  because  they  would  not  betray  their  own  church, 
went  so  far  as  to  sit  in  judgment  on  the  two  greatest  corporations 
in  the  land,  —  the  Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge, — 
institutions  which  had  ever  befriended  the  Stuart  kings  in  their 
crimes  and  misfortunes.     James  was  infatuated  enough  to  quarrel 


CHAP.  XV.]  QUARREL    WITH    THE    UNIVERSITIES.  223 

with  these  great  bodies,  because  they  would  not  approve  of  his 
measures  to  overturn  the  church  with  which  they  were  con- 
nected, and  which  it  was  their  duty  and  interest  to  uphold. 
The  king  had  commanded  Cambridge  to  bestow  the  degree 
of  master  of  arts  on  a  Benedictine  monk,  which  was  against 
the  laws  of  the  University  and  of  parliament.  The  University 
refused  to  act  against  the  law,  and,  in  consequence,  the  vice- 
chancellor  and  the  senate,  which  consisted  of  doctors  and 
masters,  were  summoned  to  the  Court  of  High  Commission.  The 
vice-chancellor,  Pechell,  was  deprived  of  his  office  and  emolu- 
ments, which  were  of  the  nature  of  freehold  property.  But  this 
was  not  the  worst  act  of  the  infatuated  monarch.  He  insisted  on 
imposing  a  Roman  Catholic  in  the  presidential  chair  of  Magdalen 
College,  one  of  the  richest  and  most  venerable  of  the  University 
of  Oxford,  against  even  the  friendly  remonstrances  of  his  best 
friends,  even  of  his  Catholic  counsellors,  and  not  only  against  the 
advice  of  his  friends,  but  against  all  the  laws  of  the  land  and  of 
the  rights  of  the  University ;  for  the  proposed  president.  Farmer, 
was  a  Catholic,  and  was  not  a  fellow  of  the  college,  and  therefore 
especially  disqualified.  He  was  also  a  man  of  depraved  morafs. 
The  fellows  refused  to  elect  Farmer,  and  chose  John  Hough 
instead.  They  were  accordingly  cited  to  the  infamous  court  of 
which  Jeffreys  was  the  presiding  and  controlling  genius.  Their 
election  was  set  aside,  but  Farmer  was  not  confirmed,  being  too 
vile  even  for  Jeffreys  to  sustain. 

The  king  was  exceedingly  enraged  at  the  opposition  he  received 
from  the  University.  He  resolved  to  visit  it.  On  his  arrival,  he 
summoned  the  fellows  of  Magdalen  College,  and  commanded  them 
to  obey  him  in  the  matter  of  a  president.  They  still  held  out  in 
opposition,  and  the  king,  mortified  and  enraged,  quitted  Oxford  to 
resort  to  bolder  measures.  A  special  commission  was  instituted. 
Hough  was  forcibly  ejected,  and  the  Bishop  of  Oxford  installed, 
against  the  voice  of  all  the  fellows  but  two.  But  the  blinded  king 
was  not  5^et  content.  The  fellows  were  expelled  from  the  Univer- 
sity by  a  royal  edict,  and  the  high  commissioner  pronounced  the 
ejected  fellows  incapable  of  ever  holding  any  church  preferment. 

But  these  severities  were  blunders,  and  produced  a  different 
effect  from  what  was  anticipated.     The  nation  was  indignant ;  the 


224  MAGDALEN    COLLEGE.  [cHAP.  XV. 

Universities  lost  all  reverence ;  the  clergy,  in  a  body,  were  alien- 
ated ;  and  the  whole  aristocracy  were  filled  with  defiance. 

But  the  king,  nevertheless,  for  a  time,  prevailed  against  all 
opposition ;  and,  now  that  the  fellows  of  Magdalen  College  were 
expelled,  he  turned  it  into  a  Popish  seminary,  admitted  in  one 
day  twelve  Roman  Catholics  as  fellows,  and  appointed  a  Roman 
Catholic  bishop  to  preside  over  them.  This  last  insult  was  felt  to 
the  extremities  of  the  kingdom ;  and  bitter  resentment  took  the 
place  of  former  loyalty.  James  was  now  regarded,  by  his  old 
friends  even,  as  a  tyrant,  and  as  a  man  destined  to  destruction. 
And,  indeed,  he  seemed  like  one  completely  infatuated,  bent  on 
the  ruin  of  that  church  which  even  James  I.  and  the  other  Stuart 
kings  regarded  as  the  surest  and  firmest  pillar  of  the  throne. 

The  bishops  of  the  English  Church  had  in  times  past,  as  well 
as  the  Universities,  inculcated  the  doctrine  of  passive  obedience; 
and  oppression  must  be  very  grievous  indeed  which  would  induce 
them  to  oppose  the  royal  will.  But  James  had  completely  alien- 
ated them,  and  they,  reluctantly,  at  last,  threw  themselves  into  the 
ranks  of  opposition.  Had  tliey  remained  true  to  him,  he  might 
still  have  held  his  sceptre  ;  but  it  was  impossible  that  any  body  of 
men  could  longer  bear  his  injustice  and  tyranny. 

From  motives  as  impossible  to  fathom,  as  it  is  difficult  to  account 
for  the  actions  of  a  madman,  he  ordered  that  the  Declaration  of 
Indulgence,  an  unconstitutional  act,  should  be  read  publicly 
from  all  the  pulpits  in  the  kingdom.  The  London  clergy, 
the  most  respectable  and  influential  in  the  realm,  made  up  their 
minds  to  disregard  the  order,  and  the  bishops  sustained  them  in 
their  refusal.  The  archbishop  and  sLx  bishops  accordingly  signed 
a  petition  to  the  king,  which  embodied  the  views  of  the  London 
clergy.  It  was  presented  to  the  tyrant,  by  the  prelates  in  a  body, 
at  his  palace.  He  chose  to  consider  it  as  a  treasonable  and 
libellous  act — as  nothing  short  of  rebellion.  The  conduct  of  the 
prelates  was  generally  and  enthusiastically  approved  by  the  nation, 
and  especially  by  the  Dissenters,  who  now  united  with  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Established  Church.  James  had  recently  courted  the 
Dissenters,  not  wishing  to  oppose  too  many  enemies  at  a  time. 
He  had  conferred  on  them  many  indulgences,  and  had  elevated 
.some  of  them  to  high  positions,  with  the  hope  that  they  would 


CHAP.  XV.]         PROSECUTION    OF   THE    SEVEN   BISHOPS.  225 

unite  with  him  in  breaking  down  the  EstabUshment.  But  while 
some  of  the  more  fanatical  were  gained  over,  the  great  body  were 
not  so  easily  deceived.  They  knew  well  enough  that,  after 
crushing  the  Church  of  England,  he  would  crush  them.  And 
they  hated  Catholicism  and  tyranny  more  than  they  did  Episco- 
pacy, in  spite  of  their  many  persecutions.  Some  of  the  more 
eminent  of  the  Dissenters  took  a  noble  stand,  and  their  conduct  was 
fully  appreciated  by  the  Established  clergy.  For  the  first  time, 
since  the  accession  of  Elizabeth,  the  Dissenters  and  the  Episcopa- 
lians treated  each  other  with  that  courtesy  and  forbearance  which 
enlightened  charity  demands.  The  fear  of  a  common  enemy 
united  them.  But  time,  also,  had,  at  length,  removed  many  of 
their  mutual  asperities. 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  vexation  of  James  when  he  found 
that  not  only  the  clergy  had  disobeyed  his  orders,  but  that  the 
Seven  Bishops  were  sustained  by  the  nation.  When  this  was  dis- 
covered, he  should  have  yielded,  as  Elizabeth  would  have  done. 
But  he  was  a  Stuart.  He  was  a  bigoted,  and  self-willed,  and  in- 
fatuated monarch,  marked  out  most  clearly  by  Providence  for 
destruction.  He  resolved  to  prosecute  the  bishops  for  a  libel,  and 
their  trial  and  acquittal  are  among  the  most  interesting  events  of 
an  inglorious  reign.  They  were  tried  at  the  Court  of  the  King's 
Bench.  The  most  eminent  lawyers  in  the  realm  were  employed 
as  their  counsel,  and  all  the  arts  of  tyranny  were  resorted  to  by  the 
servile  judges  who  tried  them.  But  the  jury  rendered  a  verdict 
of  acquittal,  and  never,  within  man's  memory,  were  such  shouts 
and  tears  of  joy  manifested  by  the  people.  Even  the  soldiers, 
whom  the  king  had  ordered  to  Hounslow  Heath  to  overawe  Lon- 
don, partook  of  the  enthusiasm  and  triumph  of  the  people.  All 
classes  were  united  in  expressions  of  joy  that  the  tyrant  for  once 
was  baffled.  The  king  was  indeed  signally  defeated ;  but  his 
defeat  did  not  teach  him  wisdom.  It  only  made  him  the  more 
resolved  to  crush  the  liberties  of  the  Church,  and  the  liberties  of  the 
nation.  But  it  also  arrayed  against  him  all  classes  and  all  parties 
of  Protestants,  who  now  began  to  form  alliances,  and  devise 
measures  to  hurl  him  from  his  throne.  Even  the  very  courts 
which  James  had  instituted  to  crush  liberty  proved  refractory. 
Sprat,  the  servile  Bishop  of  Rochester,  sent  him  his  resignation  as 

Q 


326  TYRANNY   AND   INFATUATION    OF   JAMES.        [cHAP.  XV. 

one  of  the  Lord  Commissioners.  The  very  meanness  of  his 
spirit  and  laxity  of  his  principles  made  his  defection  peculiarly 
alarming,  and  the  unblushing  Jeffreys  now  began  to  tremble. 
The  Court  of  High  Commission  shrunk  from  a  conflict  with  the 
Established  Church,  especially  when  its  odious  character  was 
loudly  denounced  by  all  cleisses  in  the  kingdom  —  even  by  some 
of  the  agents  of  tyranny  itself.  The  most  unscrupulous  slaves 
of  power  showed  signs  of  uneasiness. 

But  James  resolved  to  persevere.  The  sanction  of  a  parlia- 
ment was  necessary  to  his  system,  but  the  sanction  of  a  free 
parliament  it  was  impossible  to  obtain.  He  resolved  to  bring 
together,  by  corruption  and  intimidation,  by  violent  exertions  of 
prerogative,  by  fraudulent  distortions  of  law,  an  assembly  which 
might  call  itself  a  parliament,  and  might  be  willing  to  register  any 
edict  he  proposed.  And,  accordingly,  every  placeman,  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest,  was  made  to  understand  that  he  must  support 
the  throne  or  lose  his  office.  He  set  himself  vigorously  to  pack  a 
parliament.  A  committee  of  seven  privy  counsellors  sat  at 
Whitehall  for  the  purpose  of  regulating  the  municipal  corporations. 
Father  Petre  was  made  a  privy  councillor.  Committees,  after  the 
model  of  the  one  at  Whitehall,  were  established  in  all  parts  of  the 
realm.  The  lord  lieutenants  received  written  orders  to  go  down  to 
their  respective  counties,  and  superintend  the  work  of  corruption 
and  fraud.  But  half  of  them  refused  to  perform  the  ignominious 
work,  and  were  immediately  dismissed  from  their  posts,  which 
were  posts  of  great  honor  and  consideration.  Among  these  were 
the  great  Earls  of  Oxford,  Shrewsbury,  Dorset,  Pembroke, 
Rutland,  Bridgewater,  Thanet,  Northampton,  Abingdon,  and 
Gainsborough,  whose  families  were  of  high  antiquity,  wealth,  and 
political  influence.  Nor  could  those  nobles,  who  consented  to  con- 
form to  the  wishes  and  orders  of  the  king,  make  any  progress  in  their 
counties,  on  account  of  the  general  opposition  of  the  gentry.  The 
county  squires,  as  a  body,  stood  out  in  fierce  resistance.  They 
refused  to  send  up  any  men  to  parliament  who  would  vote  away 
the  liberties  and  interests  of  the  nation.  The  justices  and  deputy 
lieutenants  declared  that  they  would  sustain,  at  all  hazard,  the 
Protestant  religion.  And  these  persons  were  not  odious  repub- 
licans, but  zealous  royalists,  now  firmly  united  and  resolved  to 
oppose  unlawful  acts,  though  commanded  by  the  king. 


CHAP.  XV.]  ORGANIZED   OPPOSITION.  227 

James  and  his  ministers  next  resolved  to  take  away  the  power 
of  the  municipal  corporations.  The  boroughs  were  required  to 
surrender  their  charters.  But  a  great  majority  firmly  refused  to 
part  with  their  privileges.  They  were  prosecuted  and  intimidated, 
but  still  they  held  out.  Oxford,  by  a  vote  of  eighty  to  two,  voted 
to  defend  its  franchises.  Other  towns  did  the  same.  Meanwhile, 
all  the  public  departments  were  subjected  to  a  strict  inquisition  ; 
and  all,  who  would  not  support  the  policy  of  the  king,  were  turned 
out  of  office,  and  among  them  were  some  who  had  been  heretofore 
the  zealous  servants  of  the  crown. 

It  was  now  full  time  for  the  organization  of  a  powerful  confedera- 
cy against  the  king.  It  was  obvious,  to  men  of  all  parties,  and  all 
ranks,  that  he  meditated  the  complete  subversion  of  English  liberties. 
The  fundamental  laws  of  the  kingdom  had  been  systematically 
violated.  The  power  of  dispensing  with  acts  of  parliament  had 
been  strained,  so  that  the  king  had  usurped  nearly  all  legislative 
authority.  The  courts  of  justice  had  been  filled  with  unscrupulous 
judges,  who  were  ready  to  obey  all  the  king's  injunctions,  whether 
legal  or  illegal.  Roman  Catholics  had  been  elevated  to  places  of 
dignity  in  the  Established  Church.  An  infamous  and  tyrannical 
Court  of  High  Commission  had  been  created  ;  persons,  who  could 
not  legally  set  foot  in  England,  had  been  placed  at  the  head  of  col- 
leges, and  had  taken  their  seat  at  the  royal  council-board.  Lord 
lieutenants  of  counties,  and  other  servants  of  the  crown,  had  been 
dismissed  for  refusing  to  obey  illegal  commands  ;  the  franchises  of 
almost  every  borough  had  been  invaded  ;  the  courts  of  justice  were 
venal  and  corrupt ;  an  army  of  Irish  Catholics,  whom  the  nation 
abhorred,  had  been  brought  over  to  England  ;  even  the  sacred  right 
of  petition  was  disregarded,  and  respectful  petitioners  were  treated 
as  criminals  ;  and  a  free  parliament  was  prevented  from  assembling. 

Under  such  circumstances,  and  in  view  of  these  unquestioned 
facts,  a  great  conspiracy  was  set  on  foot  to  dethrone  the  king  and 
overturn  the  hateful  dynasty. 

Among  the  conspirators  were  some  of  the  English  nobles,  the 
chief  of  whom  was  the  Earl  of  Devonshire,  and  one  of  the 
leaders  of  the  Whig  party.  Shrewsbury  and  Danby  also  joined 
them,  the  latter  nobleman  having  been  one  of  the  most  zealous 
advocates  of  the  doctrine  of  passive  obedience  which  many  of  the 


228  WILLIAM,   PRINCE    OF    ORANGE.  [cHAP.  XV 

High  Churchmen  and  Tories  had  defended  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II. 
It  was  under  his  administration,  as  prime  minister,  that  a  law  had 
been  proposed  to  parliament  to  exclude  all  persons  from  office  who 
refused  to  take  an  oath,  declaring  that  they  thought  resistance  in 
all  cases  unlawful.  Compton,  the  Bishop  of  London,  who  had 
been  insolently  treated  by  the  court,  joined  the  conspirators,  whose 
designs  were  communicated  to  the  Prince  of  Orange  by  Edward 
Russell  and  Henry  Sydney,  brothers  of  those  two  great  political 
martyrs  who  had  been  executed  in  the  last  reign.  The  Prince  of 
Orange,  who  had  married  a  daughter  of  James  II.,  agreed  to 
invade  England  with  a  well-appointed  army. 

William  of  Orange  was  doubtless  the  greatest  statesman  and 
warrior  of  his  age,  and  one  of  the  ablest  men  who  ever  wore  a 
crown.  He  was  at  the  head  of  the  great  Protestant  party  in  Eu- 
rope, and  was  the  inveterate  foe  of  Louis  XIV.  When  a  youth, 
his  country  had  been  invaded  by  Louis,  and  desolated  and  aban- 
doned to  pillage  and  cruelty.  It  was  amid  unexampled  calamities, 
when  the  population  were  every  where  flying  before  triumphant 
armies,  and  the  dikes  of  Holland  had  been  opened  for  the  ravages 
of  the  sea  in  order  to  avoid  the  more  cruel  ravages  of  war,  that 
William  was  called  to  be  at  the  head  of  affairs.  He  had  scarcely 
emerged  from  boyhood  ;  but  his  boyhood  was  passed  in  scenes  of 
danger  and  trial,  and  his  extraordinary  talents  were  most  preco- 
ciously developed.  His  tastes  were  warlike  ;  but  he  was  a  war- 
rior who  fought,  not  for  the  love  of  fighting,  not  for  military  glory, 
but  to  rescue  his  country  from  a  degrading  yoke,  and  to  secure 
the  liberties  of  Europe  from  the  encroachments  of  a  most  ambi- 
tious monarch.  Zeal  for  those  liberties  was  the  animating  princi- 
ple of  his  existence ;  and  this  led  him  to  oppose  so  perseveringly 
the  policy  and  enterprises  of  the  French  king,  even  to  the  disad- 
vantage of  his  native  country  and  the  country  which  adopted  him. 

William  was  ambitious,  and  did  not  disdain  the  overtures  which 
the  discontented  nobles  of  England  made  to  him.  Besides,  his 
wife,  the  Princess  Mary,  was  presumptive  heir  to  the  crown  before 
the  birth  of  the  Prince  of  Wales.  The  eyes  of  the  English  nation 
had  long  been  fixed  upon  him  as  their  deliverer  from  the  tyranny 
of  James.  He  was  a  sincere  Protestant,  a  bold  and  enterprising 
genius,  and  a  consummate  statesman.    But  he  delayed  taking  any 


CHAP.  XV.]  CRITICAL   CONDITION    OF   JAMES.  229 

decisive  measures  until  affairs  were  ripe  for  his  projects — until  the 
misgovernment  and  encroachments  of  James  drove  the  nation  to 
the  borders  of  frenzy.  He  then  obtained  the  consent  of  the 
States  General  for  the  meditated  invasion  of  England,  and  made 
immense  preparations,  which,  however^  were  carefully  concealed 
from  the  spies  and  agents  of  James.  They  did  not  escape,  how- 
ever, the  scrutinizing  and  jealous  eye  of  Louis  XIV.,  who  remon- 
strated with  James  on  his  blindness  and  self-confidence,  and  offered 
to  lend  him  assistance.  But  the  infatuated  monarch  would  not 
believe  his  danger,  and  rejected  the  proffered  aid  of  Louis  with  a 
spirit  which  ill  accorded  with  his  former  servility  and  dependence. 
Nor  was  he  aroused  to  a  sense  of  his  danger  until  the  Declaration 
of  William  appeared,  setting  forth  the  tyrannical  acts  of  James, 
and  supposed  to  be  written  by  Bishop  Burnet,  the  intimate  friend 
of  the  Prince  of  Orange.  Then  he  made  haste  to  fit  out  a  fleet ; 
and  thirty  ships  of  the  line  were  put  under  the  command  of  Lord 
Dartmouth.  An  army  of  forty  thousand  men  —  the  largest  that 
any  king  of  England  had  ever  commanded  —  was  also  sent  to  the 
seaboard  ;  a  force  more  than  sufficient  to  repel  a  Dutch  invasion. 

At  the  same  time,  the  king  made  great  concessions.  He  abol- 
ished the  Court  of  High  Commission.  He  restored  the  charter 
of  the  city  of  London.  He  permitted  the  Bishop  of  Winchester, 
as  visitor  of  Magdalen  College,  to  make  any  reforms  he  pleased. 
He  would  not,  however,  part  with  an  iota  of  his  dispensing  power, 
and  still  hoped  to  rout  William,  and  change  the  religion  of  his 
country.  But  all  his  concessions  were  too  late.  Whigs  and  Tories, 
Dissenters  and  Churchmen,  were  ready  to  welcome  their  Dutch 
deliverer.  Nor  had  James  any  friends  on  whom  he  could  rely. 
His  prime  minister,  Sunderland,  was  in  treaty  with  the  conspira- 
tors, and  waiting  to  betray  him.  Churchill,  who  held  one  of  the 
highest  commissions  in  the  army,  and  who  was  under  great  obli- 
gations to  the  king,  was  ready  to  join  the  standard  of  William. 
Jeffreys,  the  lord  chancellor,  was  indeed  true  in  his  allegiance,  but 
his  crimes  were  past  all  forgiveness  by  the  nation ;  and  even  had 
he  rebelled,  —  and  he  was  base  enough  to  do  so,  —  his  services 
would  have  been  spurned  by  William  and  all  his  adherents. 

On  the  29th  of  October,  1688,  the  armament  of  William  put 
-to  sea ;  but  the  ships  had  scarcely  gained  half  the  distance  to  Eng- 
20 


230  INVASION    OF   ENGLAND  BY   WILLIAM.  [cHAP.  XV. 

land,  when  they  were  dispersed  and  driven  back  to  Holland  by  a 
violent  tempest.  The  hopes  of  James  revived ;  but  they  were  soon 
dissipated.  The  fleet  of  William,  on  the  1st  of  November,  again 
put  to  sea.  It  was  composed  of  more  than  six  hundred  vessels, 
five  hundred  of  which  were  men  of  war,  and  they  were  favored 
by  auspicious  gales.  The  same  winds  which  favored* the  Dutch 
ships  retarded  the  fleet  of  Dartmouth.  On  the  5th  of  November, 
the  troops  of  William  disembarked  at  Brixham,  near  Torbay  in 
Devonshire,  without  opposition.  On  the  6th,  he  advanced  to  New- 
ton Abbot,  and,  on  the  9th,  reached  Exeter.  He  was  cordially 
received,  and  magnificently  entertained.  He  and  his  lieutenant- 
general.  Marshal  Schomberg,  one  of  the  greatest  commanders  in 
Europe,  entered  Exeter  together  in  the  grand  military  procession, 
wMch  was  like  a  Roman  triumph.  Near  him  also  was  Bentinck, 
his  intimate  friend  and  counsellor,  the  founder  of  a  great  ducal 
family.  The  procession  marched  to  the  splendid  Cathedral,  the 
Te  Deum  was  sung,  and  Burnet  preached  a  sermon. 

Thus  far  all  things  had  been  favorable,  and  William  was  fairly 
established  on  English  ground.  Still  his  affairs  were  precarious, 
and  James's  condition  not  utterly  hopeless  or  desperate.  In  spite 
of  the  unpopularity  of  the  king,  his  numerous  encroachments,  and 
his  disaffected  army,  the  enterprise  of  William  was  hazardous. 
He  was  an  invader,  and  the  slightest  repulse  would  have  been 
dangerous  to  his  interests.  James  was  yet  a  king,  and  had  the 
control  of  the  army,  the  navy,  and  the  treasury.  He  was  a  legiti- 
mate king,  whose  claims  were  undisputed.  And  he  was  the  father 
of  a  son,  and  that  son,  notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  the  Protestants 
to  represent  him  as  a  false  heir,  was  indeed  the  Prince  of  Wales. 
William  had  no  claim  to  the  throne  so  long  as  that  prince  was 
living.  Nor  had  the  nobles  and  gentry  flocked  to  his  standard  as 
he  had  anticipated.  It  was  nearly  a  week  before  a  single  person 
of  rank  or  consequence  joined  him.  Devonshire  was  in  Derby- 
shire, and  Churchill  had  still  the  confidence  of  his  sovereign. 
The  forces  of  the  king  were  greatly  superior  to  his  own.  And 
James  had  it  in  his  power  to  make  concessions  which  would  have 
satisfied  a  great  part  of  the  nation. 

But  William  had  not  miscalculated.  He  had  profoundly  studied 
the  character  of  James,  and  the  temper  of  the  English.     He  knew  . 


CHAP.  XV.]  FLIGHT    OF    THE    KING.  231 

that  a  fatal  blindness  and  obstinacy  had  been  sent  upon  him,  and 
that  he  never  would  relinquish  his  darling  scheme  of  changing 
the  religion  of  the  nation  ;  and  he  knew  that  the  nation  would 
never  acquiesce  in  that  change  ;  that  Popery  was  hateful  in  their 
sight.  He  also  trusted  to  his  own  good  sword,  and  to  fortunate 
circumstances. 

And  he  was  not  long  doomed  to  suspense,  which  is  generally  so 
difficult  to  bear.  In  a  few  days,  Lord  Cornbury,  colonel  of  a  regi- 
ment, and  son  of  the  Earl  of  Clarendon,  and  therefore  a  relative 
of  James  himself,  deserted.  Soon  several  disaffected  nobles  joined 
him  in  Exeter.  Churchill  soon  followed,  the  first  general  officer 
that  ever  in  England  abandoned  his  colors.  The  Earl  of  Bath, 
who  commanded  at  Plymouth,  placed  himself,  in  a  few  days,  at 
the  prince's  disposal,  with  the  fortress  which  he  was  intrusted  to 
guard.  His  army  swelled  in  numbers  and  importance.  Devon- 
shire raised  the  standard  of  rebellion  at  Chats  worth.  London  was 
in  a  ferment.  James  was  with  his  army  at  Salisbury,  but  gave  the 
order  to  retreat,  not  daring  to  face  the  greatest  captain  in  Europe. 
Soon  after,  he  sent  away  the  queen  and  the  Prince  of  Wales  to 
France,  and  made  preparations  for  his  own  ignominious  ffight  — 
the  very  thing  his  enemies  desired,  for  his  life  was  in  no  danger, 
and  his  affairs  even  then  might  have  been  compromised,  in  spite 
of  the  rapid  defection  of  his  friends,  and  the  advance  of  William, 
with  daily  augmenting  forces,  upon  London.  On  the  11th  of 
December,  the  king  fled  from  London,  with  the  intention  of  em- 
barking at  Sheemess,  and  was  detained  by  the  fishermen  of  the 
coast ;  but,  by  an  order  from  the  Lords,  was  set  at  liberty,  and 
returned  to  the  capital.  William,  nearly  at  the  same  time,  reached 
London,  and  took  up  his  quarters  at  St.  James's  Palace.  It  is  need- 
less to  add,  that  the  population  of  the  city  were  friendly  to  his 
cause,  and  that  he  was  now  virtually  the  king  of  England.  It  is 
a  satisfaction  also  to  add,  that  the  most  infamcus  instrument  of 
royal  tyranny  was  seized  in  the  act  of  flight,  at  Wapping,  in  the 
mean  disguise  of  a  sailor.  He  was  discovered  by  the  horrible 
fierceness  of  his  countenance.  Jeffreys  was  committed  to  the 
Tower ;  and  the  Tower  screened  him  from  a  worse  calamity,  for 
the  mob  would  have  torn  him  in  pieces.  Catholic  priests  were 
also  arrested,  and  their  chapels  and  houses  destroyed. 


232  CONSUMMATION   OF   THE   BEVOLUTION.         [cHAP.  XV. 

Meanwhile  parliament  assembled  and  deliberated  on  the  state 
of  affairs.  Many  propositions  were  made  and  rejected.  The  king 
fled  a  second  time,  and  the  throne  was  declared  vacant.  But  the 
crown  was  not  immediately  offered  to  the  Prince  of  Orange,  although 
addresses  were  made  to  him  as  a  national  benefactor.  Many  were 
in  favor  of  a  regency.  Another  party  was  for  placing  the  Princess 
Mary  on  the  throne,  and  giving  to  William,  during  her  life,  the 
title  of  kmg,  and  such  a  share  of  the  administration  as  she  chose 
to  give  him. 

But  William  had  risked  every  thing  for  a  throne,  and  nothing 
less  than  the  crown  of  England  would  now  content  him.  He  gave 
the  convention  to  understand  that,  much  as  he  esteemed  his  wife, 
he  would  never  accept  a  subordinate  and  precarious  place  in  her 
government ;  "  that  he  would  not  submit  to  be  tied  to  the  apron- 
strings  of  the  best  of  wives ; "  that,  unless  he  were  offered  the 
crown  for  life,  he  should  return  to  Holland. 

It  was  accordingly  settled  by  parliament  that  he  should  hold  the 
regal  dignity  conjointly  with  his  wife,  but  that  the  whole  power 
of  the  government  should  be  placed  in  his  hands.  And  the  Prin- 
cess Mary  willingly  acceded,  being  devoted  to  her  husband,  and 
unambitious  for  herself. 

Thus  was  consummated  the  English  Revolution  of  1688,  blood- 
less, but  glorious.  A  tyrant  was  ejected  from  an  absolute  throne, 
and  a  noble  and  magnanimous  prince  reigned  in  his  stead,  after 
having  taken  an  oath  to  observe  the  laws  of  the  realm  —  an  oath 
which  he  never  violated.  Of  all  revolutions,  this  proved  the  most 
beneficent.  It  closed  the  long  struggle  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years.  Royal  prerogative  bowed  before  the  will  of  the  people, 
and  true  religious  and  civil  liberty  commenced  its  reign.  The 
Prince  of  Orange  was  called  to  the  throne  by  the  voice  of  the 
nation,  as  set  forth  in  an  instrument  known  as  the  Declaration  of 
Rights.  This  celebrated  act  of  settlement  recapitulated  the  crimes 
and  errors  of  James,  and  merely  asserted  the  ancient  rights  and 
liberties  of  England — that  the  dispensing  power  had  no  legal  ex- 
istence ;  that  no  money  could  be  raised  without  grant  of  parlia- 
ment ;  and  that  no  army  could  be  kept  up  in  time  of  peace  without 
its  consent ;  and  it  also  asserted  the  right  of  petition,  the  right  of 
electors  to  choose  their  representatives  freely,  the  right  of  parlia- 


CHAP.  XV.]  DECLARATION    OF   RIGHTS.  233 

merit  to  freedom  of  debate,  and  the  right  of  the  nation  to  a  pure  and 
merciful  administration  of  justice.  No  new  rights  were  put  forth, 
but  simply  the  old  ones  were  reestablished.  William  accepted  the 
crown  on  the  conditions  proposed,  and  swore  to  rule  by  the  laws. 
"  Not  a  single  flower  of  the  crown,"  says  Macaulay, "  was  touched. 
Not  a  single  new  right  was  given  to  the  people.  The  Declaration 
of  Rights,  although  it  made  nothing  law  which  was  not  law  before, 
contained  the  germ  of  the  law  which  gave  religious  freedom  to  the 
Dissenters ;  of  the  law  which  secured  the  independence  of  judges ; 
of  the  law  which  limited  the  duration  of  parliaments ;  of  the  law 
which  placed  the  liberty  of  the  press  under  the  protection  of  juries; 
of  the  law  which  abolished  the  sacramental  test ;  of  the  law  which 
relieved  the  Roman  Catholics  from  civil  disabilities ;  of  the  law 
which  reformed  the  representative  system ;  of  every  good  law  which 
has  been  passed  during  one  hundred  and  sixty  years ;  of  every 
good  law  which  may  hereafter,  in  the  course  of  ages,  be  found 
necessary  to  promote  the  public  weal,  and  satisfy  the  demands  of 
public  opinion." 

References.  —  Macaulay's,  Hume's,  Hallam's,  and  Lingard's  Histo- 
ries of  England.  Mackintosh's  Causes  of  the  Revolution  of  1688.  Fox's 
History  of  the  Reign  of  James  —  a  beautiful  fragment.  Burnet's  History 
of  his  Own  Times.  Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans.  Life  and  Times  of 
Richard  Baxter.  Southey's  Life  of  Bunyan.  Memoir  of  George  Fox,  by 
Marsh.  Life  of  WiUiam  Penn.  Chapters  on  religion,  science,  and  the 
condition  of  the  people,  in  the  Pictorial  History  of  England.  Russell' 
Modern  Europe.    Woolrych's  Life  of  Judge  Jeffreys. 

20* 


234  LOUIS  XIV.  [chap.  xvi. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

LOUIS    XIV. 

We  turn  now  from  English  affairs  to  contemplate  the  reign  of 
Louis  XIV.  —  a  man  who  filled  a  very  large  space  in  the  history 
of  Europe  during  the  seventeenth  century.  Indeed,  his  reign 
forms  an  epoch  of  itself,  not  so  much  from  any  impulse  he  gave  to 
liberty  or  civilization,  but  because,  for  more  than  half  a  century, 
he  was  the  central  mover  of  European  politics.  His  reign  com- 
memorates the  triumph,  in  France,  of  despotic  principles,  the 
complete  suppression  of  popular  interests,  and  almost  the  absorp- 
tion of  national  interests  in  his  own  personal  aggrandizement.  It 
commemorates  the  ascendency  of  fashion,  and  the  great  refinement 
of  material  life.  The  camp  and  the  court  of  Louis  XIV.  in- 
gulphed  all  that  is  interesting  in  the  history  of  France  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  He  reigned  seventy-two 
years,  and,  in  his  various  wars,  a  million  of  men  are  supposed  to 
have  fallen  victims  to  his  vain-glorious  ambition.  His  palaces 
consumed  the  treasures  which  his  wars  spared.  He  was  viewed 
as  a  sun  of  glory  and  power,  in  the  light  of  which  all  other  lights 
were  dim.  Philosophers,  poets,  prelates,  generals,  and  statesmen, 
during  his  reign,  were  regarded  only  as  his  satellites.  He  was  the 
central  orb  around  which  every  other  light  revolved,  and  to  con- 
tribute to  his  glory  all  were  supposed  to  be  bom.  He  was,  most 
emphatically,  the  state.  He  was  France.  A  man,  therefore, 
who,  in  the  eye  of  contemporaries,  was  so  grand,  so  rich,  so  pow- 
erful, and  so  absolute,  claims  a  special  notice.  It  is  the  province 
of  history  to  record  great  influences,  whether  they  come  from  the 
people,  from  great  popular  ideas,  from  literature  and  science,  or 
from  a  single  man.  The  lives  of  individuals  are  comparatively 
insignificant  in  the  history  of  the  United  States ;  but  the  lives  of 
such  men  as  Caesar,  Cromwell,  and  Napoleon,  furnish  very  great 
subjects  for  the  pen  of  the  philosophical  historian,  since  great 
controlling  influences  emanated  from  them,  rather  than  from  the 
people  whom  they  ruled. 


CHAP.  XVI.]  HIS   POWER   AND   RESOURCES.  235 

Louis  XIV.  was  not  a  great  general,  like  Henry  IV.,  nor  a  great 
statesman,  like  William  III.,  nor  a  philosopher,  like  Frederic  the 
Great,  nor  a  universal  genius,  like  Napoleon  ;  but  his  reign  filled 
the  eyes  of  contemporaries,  and  circumstances  combined  to  make 
him  the  absolute  master  of  a  great  empire.  Moreover,  he  had 
sufficient  talent  and  ambition  to  make  use  of  fortunate  opportu- 
nities, and  of  the  resources  of  his  kingdom,  for  his  own  aggran- 
dizement. But  France,  nevertheless,  was  sacrificed.  The  French 
Revolution  was  as  much  the  effect  of  his  vanity  and  egotism,  as 
his  own  power  was  the  fruit  of  the  policy  of  Cardinals  Richelieu 
and  Mazarin.  By  their  labors  in  the  cause  of  absolutism,  he  came 
in  possession  of  armies  and  treasures.  But  armies  and  treasures 
were  expended  in  objects  of  vain  ambition,  for  the  gratification  of 
selfish  pleasures,  for  expensive  pageants,  and  for  gorgeous  palaces. 
These  finally  embarrassed  the  nation,  and  ground  it  down  to  the 
earth  by  the  load  of  taxation,  and  maddened  it  by  the  prospect  of 
ruin,  by  the  poverty  and  degradation  of  the  people,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  by  the  extravagance  and  insolence  of  an  overbearing  aristoc- 
racy. The  aristocracy  formed  the  glory  and  pride  of  the  throne, 
and  both  nobles  and  the  throne  fell,  and  great  was  the  fall  thereof. 

Our  notice  of  Louis  XIV.  begins,  not  with  his  birth,  but  at  the 
time  when  he  resolved  to  be  his  own  prime  minister,  on  the  death 
of  Cardinal  Mazarin,  (1661.) 

Louis  XIV.  was  then  twenty-three  years  of  age  —  frank,  beauti- 
ful, imperious,  and  ambitious.  His  education  had  been  neglected, 
but  his  pride  and  selfishness  had  been  stimulated.  During  his 
minority,  he  had  been  straitened  for  money  by  the  avaricious 
cardinal ;  but  avaricious  for  his  youthful  master,  since,  at  his 
death,  besides  his  private  fortune,  which  amounted  to  two 
hundred  millions  of  livres,  he  left  fifteen  milHons  of  livres, 
not  specified  in  his  will,  which,  of  course,  the  king  seized,  and 
thus  became  the  richest  monarch  of  Europe.  He  was  married, 
shortly  before  the  death  of  Mazarin,  to  the  Infanta  Maria  Theresa, 
daughter  of  Philip  IV.,  King  of  Spain.  But,  long  before  his  mar- 
riage, he  had  become  attached  to  Mary  de  Mancini,  niece  of  Maza- 
rin, who  returned  his  love  with  passionate  ardor.  She  afterwards 
married  Prince  Colonna,  a  Roman  noble,  and  lived  a  most  aban- 
doned life. 


236  HABITS   AND   PLEASURES   OF   LOUIS.        [cHAP.  XVI. 

The  enormous  wealth  left  by  Cardinal  Mazarin  was,  doubtless, 
one  motive  which  induced  Louis  XIV.,  though  only  a  young  man 
of  twenty-three,  to  be  his  own  prime  minister.  Henceforth,  to 
his  death,  all  his  ministers  made  their  regular  reports  to  him,  and 
none  were  permitted  to  go  beyond  the  limits  which  he  prescribed 
to  them. 

He  accepted,  at  first,  the  ministers  whom  the  dying  cardinal 
bad  recommended.  The  most  prominent  of  these  were  Le  Tellier, 
De  Lionne,  and  Fouquet.  The  last  was  intrusted  with  the  public 
chest,  who  found  the  means  to  supply  the  dissipated  young  mon- 
arch with  all  the  money  he  desired  for  the  indulgence  of  his 
expensive  tastes  and  ruinous  pleasures. 

The  thoughts  and  time  of  the  king,  from  the  death  of  Mazarin, 
for  six  or  seven  years,  were  chiefly  occupied  with  his  pleasures. 
It  was  then  that  the  court  of  France  was  so  debauched,  splendid, 
and  far-famed.  It  was  during  this  time  that  the  king  was  ruled 
by  La  Valliere,  one  of  the  most  noted  of  all  his  favorites,  a  woman 
of  considerable  beauty  and  taste,  and  not  so  unprincipled  as  royal 
favorites  generally  have  been.  She  was  created  a  duchess,  and 
her  children  were  legitimatized,  and  also  became  dukes  and 
princes.  Of  these  the  king  was  very  fond,  and  his  love  for  them 
survived  the  love  for  their  unfortunate  mother,  who,  though  beau- 
tiful and  affectionate,  was  not  sufficiently  intellectual  to  retain  the 
aflfections  with  which  she  inspired  the  most  selfish  monarch  of  his 
age.  She  was  supplanted  in  the  king's  affections  by  Madame  de 
Montespan,  an  imperious  beauty,  whose  extravagances  and  follies 
shocked  and  astonished  even  the  most  licentious  court  in  Europe ; 
and  La  Valliere,  broken-hearted,  disconsolate,  and  mortified, 
sought  the  shelter  of  a  Carmelite  convent,  in  which  she  dragged 
out  thirty-six  melancholy  and  dreary  years,  amid  the  most  rigor- 
ous severities  of  self-inflicted  penance,  in  the  anxious  hope  of  that 
heavenly  mansion  where  her  sins  would  be  no  longer  remembered, 
and  where  the  weary  would  be  at  rest. 

It  was  during  these  years  of  extravagance  and  pleasure  that 
Versailles  attracted  the  admiring  gaze  of  Christendom,  the  most 
gorgeous  palace  which  the  world  has  seen  since  the  fall  of  Baby- 
lon. Amid  its  gardens  and  groves,  its  parks  and  marble  halls, 
did  the  modem  Nebuchadnezzar  revel  in  a  pomp  and  grandeur 


CHAP.  XVI.]  HIS    MILITARY   AMBITION.  237 

unparalleled  in  the  history  of  Europe,  surrounded  by  eminent 
prelates,  poets,  philosophers,  and  statesmen,  and  all  that  rank  and 
beauty  had  ennobled  throughout  his  vast  dominions.  Intoxicated 
by  their  united  flatteries,  by  all  the  incense  which  sycophancy, 
carried  to  a  science,  could  burn  before  him,  he  almost  fancied 
himself  a  deity,  and  gave  no  bounds  to  his  self-indulgence,  his 
vanity,  and  his  pride.  Every  thing  was  subordinate  to  his  pleasure 
and  his  egotism  —  an  egotism  alike  regardless  of  the  tears  of  dis- 
carded favorites,  and  the  groans  of  hjs  overburdened  subjects. 

But  Louis,  at  last,  palled  with  pleasure,  was  aroused  from 
the  festivities  of  Versailles  by  dreams  of  military  ambition.  He 
knew  nothing  of  war,  of  its  dangers,  its  reverses,  or  of  its  ruinous 
expenses;  but  he  fancied  it  would  be  a  beautiful  sport  for  a 
wealthy  and  absolute  monarch  to  engage  in  the  costly  game.  He 
cast  his  eyes  on  Holland,  a  state  extremely  weak  in  land  forces, 
and  resolved  to  add  it  to  the  great  kingdom  over  which  he  ruled. 

The  only  power  capable  of  rendering  effectual  assistance  to 
Holland,  when  menaced  by  Louis  XIV.,  was  England;  but  Eng- 
land was  ruled  by  Charles  II.,  and  all  he  cared  for  were  his 
pleasures  and  independence  from  parliamentary  control.  The 
French  king  easily  induced  him  to  break  his  alliance  with  the 
Dutch  by  a  timely  bribe,  while,  at  the  same  time,  he  insured  the 
neutrality  of  Spain,  by  inflaming  the  hereditary  prejudices  of  the 
Spanish  court  against  the  LoW  Countries. 

War,  therefore,  without  even  a  decent  pretence,  and  without 
provocation,  was  declared  against  Holland,  with  a  view  of  annex- 
ing the  Lo\Y  Countries  to  France. 

Before  the  Dutch  were  able  to  prepare  for  resistance,  Louis  XIV. 
appeared  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine  with  an  army  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand,  marshalled  by  such  able  generals  as  Luxem- 
bourg, Conde,  and  Tureime.  The  king  commanded -in  person,  and 
with  all  the  pomp  of  an  ancient  Persian  monarch,  surrounded  with 
women  and  nobles.  Without  any  adequate  force  to  resist  him,  his 
march  could  not  but  be  triumphant.  He  crossed  the  Rhine,  — -  an 
exploit  much  celebrated,  by  his  flatterers,  though  nothing  at  all  ex- 
traordinary, —  and,  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks,  nearly  all  the 
United  Provinces  had  surrendered  to  the  royal  victor.  The  reduc- 
tion of  Holland  and  Zealand  alone  was  necessary  to  crown  his  en- 


238  WILLIAM,  PRINCE    OF   ORANGE.  [cHAP.  XVI. 

terprise  with  complete  success.  But  he  wasted  time  in  vain  parade 
at  Utrecht,  where  he  held  his  court,  and  where  his  splendid  army 
revelled  in  pleasure  and  pomp.  Amsterdam  alone,  amid  the  gen- 
eral despondency  and  consternation  which  the  French  inundation 
produced,  was  true  to  herself,  and  to  the  liberties  of  Holland ;  and 
this  was  chiefly  by  means  of  the  gallant  efforts  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange. 

At  this  time,  (1672,)  he  was  twenty-two  years  of  age,  and  had 
received  an  excellent  education,  and  shown  considerable  military 
abilities.  In  consequence  of  his  precocity  of  talent,  his  unquestioned 
patriotism,  and  the  great  services  which  his  family  had  rendered  to 
the  state,  he  was  appointed  commander-in-chief  of  the  forces  of  the 
republic,  and  was  encouraged  to  aspire  to  the  office  of  stadtholder, 
the  highest  in  the  commonwealth.  ,  And  his  power  was  much  in- 
creased after  the  massacre  of  the  De  Witts  —  the  innocent  victims 
of  popular  jealousy,  who,  though  patriotic  and  illustrious,  inclined 
to  a  different  policy  than  what  the  Orange  party  advocated. 
William  advised  the  States  to  reject  with  scorn  the  humiliating 
terms  of  peace  which  Louis  XIV.  offered,  and  to  make  any  sacri- 
fice in  defence  of  their  very  last  ditch.  The  heroic  spirit  which 
animated  his  bosom  he  communicated  to  his  countrymen,  on  the 
borders  of  despair,  and  in  the  prospect  of  national  ruin ;  and  so 
great  was  the  popular  enthusiasm,  that  preparations  were  made  for 
fifty  thousand  families  to  fly  to  the  Dutch  possessions  in  the  East 
Indies,  and  establish  there  a  new  empire,  in  case  they  were  over- 
whelmed by  their  triumphant  enemy. 

Never,  in  the  history  of  war,  were  ^ch  energies  put  forth  as 
by  the  Hollanders  in  the  hour  of  their  extremity.  They  opened 
their  dikes,  and  overflowed  their  villages  and  their  farms.  They 
rallied  around  the  standard  of  their  heroic  leader,  who,  with 
twenty-two  thousand  men,  kept  the  vast  armies  of  Conde  and 
Turenne  at  bay.  Providence,  too,  assisted  men  who  were  willing 
to  help  themselves-  The  fleets  of  their  enemies  were  dispersed 
by  storms,  and  their  armies  were  driven  back  by  the  timely 
inundation. 

The  heroism  of  William  called  forth  universal  admiration. 
Louis  attempted  to  bribe  him,  and  offered  him  the  sovereignty  of 
Holland,  which  offer  he  unhesitatingly  rejected.     He  had  seen  the 


CHAP.  XVI.]  SECOND   INVASION    OF    HOLLAND.  239 

lowest  point  in  the  depression  of  his  country,  and  was  confident 
of  ultimate  success. 

The  resistance  of  Holland  was  unexpected,  and  Louis,  wearied 
with  the  campaign,  retired  to  Versailles,  to  be  fed  with  the  incense 
of  his  flatterers,  and  to  publish  the  manifestoes  of  his  glory  and 
success. 

The  states  of  Europe,  jealous  of  the  encroachments  of  Louis, 
at  last  resolved  to  come  to  the  assistance  of  the  struggling  republic 
of  Holland.  Charles  II.  ingloriously  sided  with  the  great  despot 
of  Europe ;  but  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  the  Elector  of  Bran- 
denburg, and  the  King  of  Spain  declared  war  against  France. 
Moreover,  the  Dutch  gained  some  signal  naval  battles.  The  cele- 
brated admirals  De  Ruyter  and  Van  Tromp  redeemed  the  ancient 
glories  of  the  Dutch  flag.  The  French  were  nearly  driven  out  of 
Holland ;  and  Charles  II.,  in  spite  of  his  secret  treaties  with  Louis, 
was  compelled  to  make  peace  with  the  little  state  which  had 
hitherto  defied  him  in  the  plenitude  of  his  power. 

But  the  ambitious  King  of  France  was  determined  not  to  be 
baffled  in  his  scheme,  since  he  had  all  the  mighty  resources  of 
his  kingdom  at  his  entire  disposal,  and  was  burning  with  the 
passion  of  military  aggrandizement.  So  he  recommenced  prepa- 
rations for  the  conquest  of  Holland  on  a  greater  scale  than  ever, 
and  assembled  four  immense  armies.  Conde  led  one  against 
Flanders,  and  fought  a  bloody  but  indecisive  battle  with  the  Prince 
of  Orange,  in  which  twelve  thousand  men  were  killed  on  each  side. 
Turenne  commanded  another  on  the  side  of  Germany,  and  pos- 
sessed himself  of  the  Palatinate,  gained  several  brilliant  successes, 
but  disgraced  them  by  needless  cruelties.  Manheim,  and  numerous 
towns  and  villages,  were  burnt,  and  the  country  laid  waste  and 
desolate.  The  elector  was  so  overcome  with  indignation,  that  he 
challenged  the  French  general  to  single  combat,  which  the  great 
marshal  declined. 

Louis  himself  headed  a  third  army,  and  invaded  Franche  Comte, 
which  he  subdued  in  six  weeks.  The  fourth  army  was  sent  to  the 
frontiers  of  Roussillon,  but  eflTected  nothing  of  importance. 

This  great  war  was  prosecuted  for  four  years  longer,  in  which 
the  contending  parties  obtained  various  success.  The  only 
decisive  effect  of  the  contest  was  to  reduce  the  strength  of  all  the 


240  DUTCH   WAR.  [chap.  XVI. 

contending  powers.  Some  great  battles  were  fought,  but  Holland 
still  held  out  with  inferior  forces.  Louis  lost  the  great  Turenne, 
who  was  killed  on  the  eve  of  a  battle  with  the  celebrated  Monte - 
cuculi,  who  commanded  the  German  armies  ;  but,  in  a  succeeding 
campaign,  this  loss  was  compensated  by  the  surrender  of  Valen- 
ciennes, by  the  victories  of  Luxembourg  over  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
and  by  another  treaty  of  peace  with  Charles  II. 

At  last,  all  the  contending  parties  were  exhausted,  and  Louis  was 
willing  to  make  terms  of  peace.  He  had  not  reduced  Holland, 
but,  on  account  of  his  vast  resources,  he  had  obtained  considerable 
advantages.  The  treaty  of  Nimeguen,  in  1678,  secured  to  him 
Franche  Comte,  which  he  had  twice  conquered,  and  several 
important  cities  and  fortresses  in  Flanders.  He  considerably 
extended  his  dominions,  in  spite  of  a  powerful  confederacy,  and 
only  retreated  from  the  field  of  triumph  to  meditate  more  gigantic 
enterprises. 

For  nine  years,  Europe  enjoyed  a  respite  from  the  horrors  of 
war,  during  which  Louis  XIV.  acted  like  a  universal  monarch. 
During  these  nine  years,  he  indulged  in  his  passion  of  palace  build- 
ing, and  surrounded  himself  with  every  pleasure  which  could 
intoxicate  a  mind  on  which,  already,  had  been  exhausted  all  the 
arts  of  flattery,  and  all  the  resources  of  wealth. 

The  man  to  whom  Louis  was  most  indebted  for  the  means  to 
prosecute  his  victories  and  build  his  palaces,  was  Colbert,  minister 
of  finance,  who  succeeded  Fouquet.  France  was  indebted  to  this 
able  and  patriotic  minister  for  her  richest  manufactures  of  silks, 
laces,  tapestries,  and  carpets,  and  for  various  internal  improvements. 
He  founded  the  Gobelin  tapestries  ;  erected  the  Royal  Library,  the 
colonnade  of  the  Louvre,  the  Royal  Observatory,  the  Hotel  of  the 
Invalids,  and  the  palaces  of  the  Tuileries,  Vincennes,  Meudon, 
and  Versailles.  He  encouraged  all  forms  of  industry,  and  pro- 
tected the  Huguenots.  But  his  great  services  were  not  fully 
appreciated  by  the  king,  and  he  was  obnoxious  to  the  nobility,  who 
envied  his  eminence,  and  to  the  people,  because  he  desired  the 
prosperity  of  France  more  than  the  gratification  of  their  pleasures. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Louvois,  who  long  retained  a  great  ascend- 
ency by  obsequious  attention  to  all  the  king's  wishes. 

At  this  period,  the  reigning  favorite  at  court  was  Madame  de 


CHAP.  XVI.]  MADAME  MONTESPAN.  241 

Moiitespan — the  most  infamous  and  unprincipled,  but  most  witty  and 
})rilliant  of  all  the  king's  mistresses,  and  the  haughtiest  woman  of 
her  age.  Her  tastes  were  expensive,  and  her  habits  extravagant  and 
luxurious.  On  her  the  sovereign  showered  diamonds  and  rubies. 
He  could  refuse  her  nothing.  She  received  so  much  from  him,  that 
she  could  afford  to  endow  a  convent  —  the  mere  building  of  which 
cost  one  million  eight  hundred  thousand  livres.  Her  children  were 
legitimatized,  and  declared  princes  of  the  blood.  Through  her 
the  royal  favors  flowed.  Ambassadors,  ministers,  and  even 
prelates,  paid  their  court  to  her.  On  her  the  reproofs  of  Bossuet 
fell  without  effect.  Secure  in  her  ascendency  over  the  mind  of 
Louis,  she  triumphed  over  his  court,  and  insulted  the  nation.  But, 
at  last,  he  grew  weary  of  her,  although  she  remained  at  court 
eighteen  years,  and  she  was  dismissed  from  Versailles,  on  a  pen- 
sion of  a  sum  equal  to  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year.  She 
lived  twenty-two  years  after  her  exile  from  court,  and  in  great 
splendor,  sometimes  hoping  to  regain  the  ascendency  she  had 
once  enjoyed,  and  at  others  in  those  rigorous  penances  which 
her  church  inflicts  as  the  expiation  for  sin.  To  the  last,  however, 
she  was  haughty  and  imperious,  and  kept  up  the  vain  etiquette  of 
a  court.  Her  husband,  whom  she  had  abandoned,  and  to  whom, 
after  her  disgrace,  she  sought  to  be  reconciled,  never  would  hear 
her  name  mentioned  ;  and  the  king,  whom,  for  nearly  twenty 
years,  she  had  enthralled,  heard  of  her  death  with  indifference, 
as  he  was  starting  for  a  hunting  excursion.  "  Ah,  indeed,"  said 
Louis  XIV.,  "  so  the  marchioness  is  dead !  I  should  have  thought 
that  she  would  have  lasted  longer.  Are  you  ready,  M.  de  la 
Rochefoucauld  ?  I  have  no  doubt  that,  after  this  last  shower,  the 
scent  will  lie  well  for  the  dogs.     Let  us  be  off  at  once." 

As  the  Marchioness  de  Montes-pan  lost  her  power  over  the  royal 
egotist,  Madame  de  Maintenon  gained  hers.  She  was  the  wife 
of  the  poet  Scarron,  and  was  first  known  to  the  king  as  the 
governess  of  the  children  of  Montespan.  She  was  an  estimable 
woman  on  the  whole,  very  intellectual,  very  proper,  very  artful,  and 
very  ambitious.  No  person  ever  had  so  great  an  influence  over 
Louis  XIV.  as  she ;  and  hers  was  the  ascendency  of  a  strong  mind 
ovfv  a  weak  one.  She  endeavored  to  make  peace  at  court,  and 
to  dissuade  the  king  from  those  vices  to  which  he  had  so  long  been 
21         R 


242  MADAME    DE    MAINTENON.  [cHAP.  XVI. 

addicted.  And  she  partially  reclaimed  him,  although,  while  her 
counsels  were  still  regarded,  Louis  was  enslaved  by  Madame  de 
Fontanges — a  luxurious  beauty,  whom  he  made  a  duchess,  and  on 
whom  he  squandered  the  revenues  of  a  province.  But  her  reign 
was  short.  Mere  physical  charms  must  soon  yield  to  the  superior 
power  of  intellect  and  wit,  and,  after  her  death,  the  reign  of 
Madame  de  Maintenon  was  complete.  As  the  king  could  not  live 
without  her,  and  as  she  refused  to  follow  the  footsteps  of  her  pred- 
ecessors, the  king  made  her  his  wife.  And  she  was  worthy  of 
his  choice  ;  and  her  influence  was,  on  the  whole,  good,  although 
she  befriended  the  Jesuits,  and  prompted  the  king  to  many  acts 
of  religious  intolerance.  It  was  chiefly  through  her  influence, 
added  to  that  of  the  Jesuits,  that  the  king  revoked  the  edict  of 
Nantes,  and  its  revocation  was  attended  by  great  sufferings  and 
privations  among  the  persecuted  Huguenots.  He  had,  on  ascending 
the  throne,  in  1643,  confirmed  the  privileges  of  the  Protestants ; 
but,  gradually,  he  worried  them  by  exactions  and  restraints,  and, 
finally,  in  1685,  by  the  revocation  of  the  edict  which  Henry  IV. 
had  passed,  he  withdrew  his  protection,  and  subjected  them  to  a 
more  bitter  persecution  than  at  any  preceding  period.  All  the 
Protestant  ministers  were  banished,  or  sent  to  the  galleys,  and  the 
children  of  Protestants  were  taken  from  their  parents,  and  com- 
mitted to  the  care  of  their  nearest  Catholic  relations,  or  such 
persons  as  judges  appointed.  All  the  terrors  of  military  execution, 
all  the  artifices  of  priestcraft,  were  put  forth  to  make  converts ; 
and  such  as  relapsed  were  subjected  to  cruel  torments.  A 
twentieth  part  of  them  were  executed,  and  the  remainder  hunted 
from  place  to  place.  By  these*  cruelties,  France  was  deprived  of 
nearly  six  hundred  thousand  of  the  best  people  in  the  land  — 
a  great  misfortune,  since  they  contributed,  in  their  dispersion  and 
exile,  to  enrich,  by  their  agriculture  and  manufactures,  the  coun- 
tries to  which  they  fled. 

From  this  period  of  his  reign  to  his  death,  Louis  XIV.  was  a 
religious  bigot,  and  the  interests  of  the  Roman  Church,  next  to  the 
triumph  of  absolutism,  became  the  great  desire  of  his  life.  He 
was  punctual  and  rigid  in  the  outward  ceremonials  of  his  religion , 
and  professed  to  regret  the  follies  and  vices  of  his  early  life. 
Through  the  influence  of  his  confessor,  the  Jesuit  La  Chaise,  and 


CHAP.  XVI.]  LEAGUE  OF  AUGSBURG.  243 

his  wife,  Madame  de  Maintenon,  he  sent  away  Montespan  from  his 
court,  and  discouraged  those  gayeties  for  which  it  had  once  been 
distinguished.  But  he  was  always  fond  of  ceremony  of  all  kinds, 
and  the  etiquette  of  his  court  was  most  irksome  and  oppressive, 
and  wearied  Madame  de  Maintenon  herself,'  and  caused  her  to  ex- 
claim, in  a  letter  to  her  brother,  "  Save  those  who  fill  the  highest 
stations,  I  know  of  none  more  unfortunate  than  those  who  envy 
them." 

The  favorite  minister  of  the  king  at  this  time  was  Louvois,  a 
very  able  but  extremely  prodigal  man,  who  plunged  Louis  XIV. 
into  innumerable  expenses,  and  encouraged  his  taste  both  for 
palaces  and  war.  It  was  probably  through  his  intrigues,  in  order 
to  make  himself  necessary  to  the  king,  that  a  general  war  again 
broke  out  in  Europe. 

In  1687  was  formed  the  famous  League  of  Augsburg,  by  which 
the  leading  princes  of  Europe  united  in  a  great  confederacy  to 
suppress  the  power  and  encroachments  of  the  French  king.  Lou- 
vois intrigued  to  secure  the  election  of  the  Cardinal  de  Furstem- 
berg  to  the  archbishopric  of  Cologne,  in  opposition  to  the  interests 
of  Bavaria,  the  natural  ally  of  France,  conscious  that,  by  so  doing, 
he  must  provoke  hostilities.  But  this  act  was  only  the  occasion, 
not  the  cause,  of  war.  Louis  had  enraged  the  Protestant  world  by 
his  persecution  of  the  Huguenots.  He  had  insulted  even  the  pope 
himself  by  sending  an  ambassador  to  Rome,  with  guards  and 
armed  attendants  equal  to  an  army,  in  order  to  enforce  some 
privileges  which  it  was  not  for  the  interest  or  the  dignity  of  the 
pope  to  grant ;  he  had  encouraged  the  invasion  of  Germany  by 
the  Turks  ;  he  had  seized  Strasbtirg,  the  capital  of  Alsace  ;  he 
bombarded  Genoa,  because  they  sold. powder  to  the  Algerines,  and 
compelled  the  doge  to  visit  him  as  a  suppliant ;  he  laid  siege  to 
some  cities  which  belonged  to  Spain ;  and  he  prepared  to  annex 
the  Low  Countries  to  his  dominions.  Indeed,  he  treated  all  other 
powers  as  if  he  were  the  absolute  monarch  of  Europe,  and  fear  and 
jealousy  united  them  against  them.  Germany,  Spain,  and  Holland, 
and  afterwards  England,  Denmark,  Sweden,  and  Savoy,  cooperated 
together  to  crush  the  common  enemy  of  European  liberties. 

Louis  made  enormous  exertions  to  resist  this  powerful  confed- 
eracy.     Four  hundred  thousand  men  were  sent  into  the  field, 


244  OPPOSING  ARMIES   AND   GENERALS.  [(HAP.  XVI. 

divided  into  four  armies.  Two  of  these  were  sent  into  Flanders, 
one  intp  jCatalonia,  and  one  into  Germany,  which  laid  waste  the 
Palatinate  wimiri^"TimlH*word.  Louvois  gave  the  order,  and  Louis 
sanctioned  it,  which  was  exeputed  with  such  unsparing  cruelty  that 
all  Europe  was  filled  with  indigiw^wn  and  defiance. 

The  forces  of  Louis  were  inimen^V^t  those  of  the  allies  were 
greater.  The  Spaniards,  Dutch,  and  English,  had  an  army  of 
fifty  thousand  men  in  Flanders,  eleven  thousand  of  whom  were 
commanded  by  the  Earl  of  Marlborough.  The  Germans  sent 
three  more  armies  into  the  field  ;  one  commanded  by  the  Elector 
of  Bavaria,  on  the  Upper  Rhine ;  another  by  the  Duke  of  Lor- 
raine, on  the  Middle  Rhine ;  and  a  third  by  the  Elector  of  Bran- 
denburg, on  the  Lower  Rhine  ;  and  these,  in  the  first  campaign, 
obtained  signal  successes.  The  next  year,  the  Duke  of  Savoy 
joined  the  allies,  whose  army  was  commanded  by  Victor  Amadous  ; 
but  he  was  beaten  by  Marshal  Catinat,  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished of  the  French  generals.  Luxembourg  also  was  successful 
in  Flanders,  and  gained  the  great  battle  of  Gharleroi  over  the 
Grermans  and  Dutch.  The  combined  fleet  of  the  English  and 
Dutch  was  also  defeated  by  the  French  at  the  battle  of  Beachy 
Head.  In  the  next  campaign.  Prince  Eugene  and  the  Duke  of 
Schomberg  distinguished  themselves  in  checking  the  victorious 
career  of  Catinat ;  but  nothing  of  importance  was  effected.  The 
following  spring,  William  III.  and  Louis  XIV.,  the  two  great  heads 
of  the  contending  parties,  took  the  field  themsiplves ;  and  Louis, 
with  the  aid  of  Luxembourg,  took  Namur,  In  spite  of  the  efforts  of 
William  to  succor  it.  Some  other  successes  were  gained  by  the 
French,  and  Louis  retired  to  Versailles  to  celebrate  the  victories 
of  his  generals.  The  next  campaign  witnessed  another  splendid 
victory  over  William  and  the  allies,  by  Luxembourg,  at  Neerwin- 
den,  when  twelve  thousand  men  were  killed  ;  and  also  another, 
by  Catinat,  at  Marsaglia,  in  Italy,  over  the  Duke  of  Savoy.  The 
military  glory  of  Louis  was  now  at  its  height ;  but,  in  the  cam- 
paign of  1694-95,  he  met  with  great  reverses.  Luxembourg,  the 
greatest  of  his  generals,  died.  The  allies  retook  ffuy  and  Na- 
mur, and  the  French  king,  exhausted  by  the  long  war,  was  forced 
to  make  peace.  The  treaty  of  Ryswick,  in  1697,  secured  the 
tranquillity  of  Europe  for  four  years  —  long  enough  only  for  the 


CHAP.  XVI.]  WAR    OF    THE    SPANISH    SUCCESSION.  245 

contending  parties  to  recover  their  energies,  and  prepare  for 
a  more  desperate  contest.  Louis  XIV.,  however,  now  acted  on 
the  defensive.  The  aUied  powers  were  resolved  on  his  complete 
humiliation. 

War  broke  out  again  in  1701,  and  in  consequence  of  the  acces- 
sion of  Philip  v.,  grandson  of  Louis  XIV.,  to  the  throne  of  Spain. 
This  great  war  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  during  which  Marlbor- 
ough so  greatly  distinguished  himself,  claims  a  few  explanatory- 
remarks. 

Charles  II.,  King  of  Spain,  and  the  last  of  the  line  of  the  Aus- 
trian princes,  being  without  an  heir,  and  about  to  die,  selected  as 
his  successor  Leopold  of  Bavaria,  a  boy  five  years  of  age,  whose 
grandmother  was  Maria  Theresa.  But  there  were  also  two  other 
claimants  —  the  Duke  of  Anjou,  grandson  of  Louis  XIV.,  whose 
claim  rested  in  being  the  grandson  of  Maria  Theresa,  daughter  of 
Philip  IV.,  and  sister  of  Charles  U.,  and  the  Emperor  of  Germany, 
whose  mother  was  the  daughter  of  Philip  III.  The  various  Euro- 
pean stales  looked  with  extreme  jealousy  on  the  claims  of  the 
Emperor  of  Germany  and  the  Duke  of  Anjou,  because  they 
feared  that  the  balance  of  power  would  be  seriously  disturbed  if 
either  an  Austrian  or  a  Bourbon  prince  became  King  of  Spain. 
They,  therefore,  generally  supported  the  claims  of  the  Bavarian 
prince,  especially  England  and  Holland. 

But  the  Prince  of  Bavaria  suddenly  died,  as  it  was  supposed  by 
poison,  and  Louis  XIV.  so  successfully  intrigued,  that  his  grandson 
was  nominated  by  the  Spanish  monarch  as  heir  to  his  throne. 
This  incensed  Leopold  II.  of  Germany,  and  especially  William  III., 
who  was  resolved  that  the  house  of  Bourbon  should  be  no  further 
aggrandized. 

On  the  accession  of  the  Duke  of  Anjou  to  the  Spanish  throne, 
in  1701,  a  grand  alliance  was  formed,  headed  by  the  Emperor  of 
Germany  and  the  King  of  England,  to  dethrone  him.  Louis  XIV. 
long  hesitated  between  his  ambition  and  the  interests  of  his  king- 
dom ;  but  ambition  triumphed.  He  well  knew  that  he  could  only 
secure  a  crown  to  his  grandson  by  a  desperate  contest  with  indig- 
nant Europe.  Austria,  Holland,  Savoy,  and  England  were  arrayed 
against  France.  And  this  war  of  the  Spanish  Succession  was  the 
longest,  the  bloodiest,  and  the  most  disastrous  war  in  which  Louis 
21* 


246  DUKE    OF    MARLBOROUGH.  [cHAP.  XVL 

was  ever  engaged.  It  commenced  the  last  year  of  the  reign  of 
Willit^m  III.,  and  lasted  thirteen  years. 

The  great  hero  of  this  war  was  doubtless  the  Duke  of  Marl- 
borough, although  Prince  Eugene  gained  with  him  as  imperishable 
glories  as  war  can  bestow.  John  Churchill,  Duke  of  Marlborough, 
cannot  be  said  to  be  one  of  those  geniuses  who  have  impressed 
their  minds  on  nations  and  centuries ;  but  he  was  a  man  who  gave 
great  lustre  to  the  British  name,  and  who  attained  to  a  higher  pitch 
of  military  fame  than  any  general  whom  England  has  produced 
since  Oliver  Cromwell,  with  the  exception  of  Wellington. 

He  was  bom  in  1650,  of  respectable  parents,  and  was  page  of 
honor  to  the  Duke  of  York,  afterwards  James  II.  While  a  mere 
boy,  his  bent  of  mind  was  discernible,  and  he  solicited  and  ob- 
tained from  the  duke  an  ensign's  commission,  and  rapidly  passed 
through  the  military  grades  of  lieutenant,  captain,  major,  and 
colonel.  During  the  infamous  alliance  between  Louis  XIV.  and 
Charles  II.,  he  served  under  Marshal  Turenne,  and  learned  from 
him  the  art  of  war.  But  he  also  distinguished  himself  as  a  diplo- 
matic agent  of  Charles  II.,  in  his  intrigues  with  Holland  and 
France.  Before  the  accession  of  James  II.,  he  was  created  a 
Scottish  peer,  by  the  title  of  Baron  Churchill.  He  followed  his 
royal  patron  in  his  various  peregrinations,  and,  when  he  succeeded 
to  the  English  throne,  he  was  raised  to  an  English  peerage.  But 
Marlborough  deserted  his  patron  on  the  landing  of  William  III., 
and  was  made  a  member  of  his  Privy  Council,  and  lord  of  the 
bed-chamber.  Two  days  before  the  coronation  of  William,  he  was 
made  Earl  of  Marlborough ;  but  was  not  intrusted  with  as  high 
military  command  as  his  genius  and  services  merited,  William 
being  apparently  jealous  of  his  fame.  On  the  accession  of  Anne, 
he  was  sent  to  the  Continent  with  the  supreme  command  of  the 
English  armies  in  the  war  with  Louis  about  the  Spanish  Succession. 
His  services  in  the  campaign  of  1702  secured  a  dukedom,  and 
deservedly,  for  he  contended  against  great  obstacles  —  against  the 
obstinacy  and  stupidity  of  the  Dutch  deputies ;  against  the  timidity 
of  the  English  government  at  home ;  and  against  the  veteran 
armies  of  Louis,  led  on  by  the  celebrated  Villars.  But  neither  the 
campaigns  of  1702  or  1703  were  marked  by  any  decisive  battles. 
In  1704  was  fought  the  celebrated  battle  of  Blenheim,  by  which 


CHAP.  XVI.]  BATTLE    OF   BLENHEIM.  247 

the  French  power  was  crippled,  and  the  hopes  of  Louis  pros- 
trated. 

The  campaign  of  1703  closed  disastrously  for  the  allies.  Eu- 
rope was  never  in  greater  peril.  Bavaria. united  with  France  and 
Spain  to  crush  Austria.  The  Austrians  had  only  twenty  thousand 
men,  while  the  Bavarians  had  forty-five  thousand  men  in  the  centre 
of  Germany,  and  Marshal  Tallard  was  posted,  with  forty-five 
thousand  men,  on  the  Upper  Rhine.  Marshal  Villeroy  opposed 
Marlborough  in  the  Netherlands. 

But  Marlborough  conceived  the  bold  project  of  marching  his 
troops  to  the  banks  of  the  Danube,  and  there  uniting  with  the  Im- 
perialists under  Prince  Eugene,  to  cut  off  the  forces  of  the  enemy 
before  they  could  unite.  So  he  left  the  Dutch  to  defend  themselves 
against  Villeroy,  rapidly  ascended  the  Rhine,  before  any  of  the 
enemy  dreamed  of  his  designs.  From  Mentz,  he  proceeded  with 
forty  thousand  men  to  Heidelberg,  and  from  Heidelberg  to  Donau- 
worth,  on  the  Danube,  where  his  troops,  which  had  effected  a  junc- 
tion with  the  Austrians  and  Prussians,  successfully  engaged  the 
Bavarians.  But  the  Bavarians  and  the  French  also  succeeded  in 
uniting  their  forces ;  and  both  parties  prepared  for  a  desperate 
conflict.  There  were  about  eighty  thousand  men  on  each  side. 
The  French  and  Bavarians  were  strongly  intrenched  at  the  village 
of  Blenheim  ;  and  Marlborough,  against  the  advice  of  most  of  his 
generals,  resolved  to  attack  their  fortified  camp  before  it  was  reen- 
forced  by  a  large  detachment .  of  troops  which  Villeroy  had  sent. 
"  I  know  the  danger,"  said  Marlborough ;  "  but  a  battle  is  abso- 
lutely necessary."  He  was  victorious.  Forty  thousand  of  the 
enemy  were  killed  or  taken  prisoners  ;  Tallard  himself  was  taken, 
and  every  trophy  was  secured  which  marks  a  decisive  victory. 
By  this  great  victory,  the  Emperor  of  Austria  was  relieved  from 
his  fears,  the  Hungarians  were  overawed,  Bavaria  fell  under  the 
sway  of  the  emperor,  and  the  armies  of  Louis  were  dejected  and 
discouraged.  Marlborough  marched  back  agam  to  Holland  with- 
out interruption,  was  made  a  prince  of  the  empire,  and  received 
pensions  and  lands  from  the  English  government,  which  made  him 
one  of  the  richest  and  greatest  of  the  English  nobility.  The  palace 
of  Blenheim  was  built,  and  he  received  the  praises  and  plaudits  of 
the  civilized  world. 


248  EXERTIONS    AND   NECESSITIES    OF    LOUIS.      [CHAP    XVI. 

The  French  were  hardly  able  to  cope  with  Marlborough  during 
the  next  campaign,  but  rallied  in  1706,  during  which  year  the 
great  battle  of  Ramillies  was  fought,  and  won  by  Marlborough. 
The  conquest  of  Brabant,  and  the  greater  part  of  Spanish  Flan- 
ders, resulted  from  this  victoiy ;  and  Louis,  crippled  and  humili- 
ated, made  overtures  of  peace.  Though  equitable,  they  were 
rejected ;  tlie  allies  having  resolved  that  no  peace  should  be  made 
with  the  house  of  Bourbcwi  while  a  prince  of  that  house  continued 
to  sit  upofi  the  throne  of  Spain.  Louis  appealed  now,  in  his  dis- 
tress, to  the  national  honor,  sent  his  plate  to  the  mint,  and  resolved, 
in  his  turn,  to  contend,  to  *the  last  extremity,  with  his  enemies, 
whom  success  had  intoxicated. 

The  English,  not  content  with  opposing  Louis  in  the  Netherlands 
and  in  Germany,  sent  their  armies  into  Spain,  also,  who,  united 
with  the  Austrians,  overran  the  country,  and  nearly  completed  its 
conquest.  One  of  the  most  gallant  and  memorable  exploits  of  the 
war  was  the  siege  and  capture  of  Barcelona  by  the  Earl  of 
/Peterborough,  the  city  having  made  one  of  the  noblest  and  most 
/  desperate  defences  since  the  siege  of  Numantia. 

The  exertions  of  Louis  were  equal  to  his  necessities ;  and,  in 
1707,  he  was  able  to  send  large  armies  into  the  field.  None  of 
his  generals  were  able  to  resist  the  Duke  of  Marlborough,  who 
gained  new  victories,  and  took  important  cities ;  but,  in  Spain,  the 
English  met  with  reverses.  In  1708,  Louis  again  offered  terms 
of  peace,  which  were  again  rejected.  His  country  was  impov- 
erished, his  resources  were  exhausted,  and  a  famine  carried  away 
his  subjects.  He  agreed  to  yield  the  whole  Spanish  monarchy  to 
the  house  of  Austria,  without  any  equivalent ;  to  cede  to  the 
emperor  his  conquests  on  the  Rhine,  and  to  the  Dutch  the  great 
cities  which  Marlborough  had  taken ;  to  acknowledge  the  Elector 
of  Brandenburg  as  King  of  Prussia,  and  Anne  as  Queen  of  Eng- 
land ;  to  remove  the  Pretender  from  his  dominions ;  to  acknowl- 
edge the  succession  of  the  house  of  Hanover ;  to  restore  every 
thing  required  by  the  Duke  of  Savoy ;  and  agree  to  the  cessions 
made  to  the  King  of  Portugal. 

And  yet  these  conditions,  so  honorable  and  advantageous  to  the 
allies,  were  rejected,  chiefly  through  the  influence  of  Marlborough, 
Eugene,  and  the  pensionary  Heinsius,  who  acted  from  entirely 


CHAP.  XVI.]  TREATY  OF  UTRECHT.  249 

selfish  motives.  Louis  was  not  permitted  to  cherish  the  most  remote 
hope  of  peace  without  surrendering  the  strongest  cities  of  his 
dominions  as  pledges  for  the  entire  evacuation  of  the  Spanish  mon- 
archy by  his  grandson.  This  he  would  not  agree  to.  He  threw 
himself,  in  his  distress,  upon  the  loyalty  of  his  people.  Their  pride 
and  honor  were  excited ;  and,  in  spite  of  all  their  misfortunes,  they 
prepared  to  make  new  efforts.  Again  were  the  French  defeated  at 
the  great  battle  of  Malplaquet,  when  ninety  thousand  men  con- 
tended on  each  side  ;  and  again  did  Louis  sue  for  peace.  Again 
were  his  overtures  rejected,  and  again  did  he  rally  his  exhausted 
nation.  Some  victories  in  Spain  were  obtained  over  the  confed- 
erates ;  but  the  allies  gradually  were  hemming  him  around,  and 
the  king-hunt  was  nearly  up,  when  unexpected  dissensions  among 
the  allies  relieved  him  of  his  enemies. 

These  dissensions  were  the  struggles  between  the  Whigs  and 
Tories  in  England  ;  the  former  maintaining  that  no  peace  should 
be  made ;  the  latter,  that  the  war  had  been  carried  far  enough, 
and  was  prolonged  only  to  gratify  the  ambition  of  Marlborough. 
The  great  general,  in  consequence,  lost  popularity ;  and  the 
Tories  succeeded  in  securing  a  peace,  just  as  Louis  was  on  the 
verge  of  ruin.  Another  campaign,  had  the  allies  been  united, 
would  probably  have  enabled  Marlborough  to  penetrate  to  Paris. 
That  was  his  aim  ;  that  was  the  aim  of  his  party.  But  the  nation 
was  weary  of  war,  and  at  last  made  peace  with  Louis.  By  the 
treaty  of  Utrecht,  (1713,)  Philip  V.  resumed  the  throne  of  Spain,  j 
but  was  compelled  to  yield  his  rights  to  the  crown  of  France  in  I  ) 
case  of  the  death  of  a  sickly  infant,  the  great-grandson  of  Louis 
XIV.,  who  was  heir  apparent  to  the  throne  ;  but,  in  other  respects, 
the  terms  were  not  more  favorable  than  what  Louis  had  offered  in 
1706,  and  very  inadequate  to  the  expenses  of  the  war.  The  allies  / 
should  have  yielded  to  the  overtures  of  Louis  before,  or  should 
have  persevered.  But  party  spirit,  and  division  in  the  English 
cabinet  and  parliament,  prevented  the  consummation  which  the 
Whigs  desired,  and  Louis  was  saved  from  further  humiliation  and 
losses.  d^^^^^^r^ 

But  his  power  was  broken.  He  was  no  longer  the  autocrat  of 
Europe,  but  a  miserable  old  man,  who  had  lived  to  see  irreparable 
calamities  inflicted  on  his  nation,  and  calamities  in  consequence 


250  LAST    DAYS    OF    LOUIS.  [cHAP.  XVI. 

of  his  ambition.  His  latter  years  were  melancholy.  He  survived 
his  son  and  his  grandson.  He  saw  himself  an  object  of  reproach, 
of  ridicule,  and  of  compassion.  He  sought  the  religious  consola- 
tion of  his  church,  but  was  the  victim  of  miserable  superstition,  and 
a  tool  of  the  Jesuits.  He  was  ruled  by  his  wife,  the  widow  of  the 
poet  Scarron,  whom  his  children  refused  to  honor.  His  last  days 
were  imbittered  by  disappointments  and  mortifications,  disasters  in 
war,  and  domestic  afflictions.  No  man  ever,  for  a  while,  enjoyed 
a  prouder  preeminence.  No  man  ever  drank  deeper  of  the  bitter 
cup  of  disappointed  ambition  and  alienated  affections.  No  man 
ever  more  fully  realized  the  vanity  of  this  world.  None  of  the 
courtiers,  by  whom  he  was  surrounded,  he  could  trust,  and  all  his 
experiences  led  to  a  disbelief  in  human  virtue.  He  saw,  with 
shame,  that  his  palaces,  his  wars,  and  his  pleasures,  had  consumed 
the  resources  of  the  nation,  and  had  sowed  the  seeds  of  a  fearful 
i-evolution.  He  lost  his  spirits ;  his  temper  became  soured  ;  mis- 
trust and  suspicion  preyed  upon  his  mind.  His  love  of  pomp 
survived  all  his  other  weaknesses,  and  his  court,  to  the  last,  was 
most  rigid  in  its  wearisome  formalities.  But  the  pageantry  of 
Versailles  was  a  poor  antidote  to  the  sorrows  which  bowed  his 
head  to  the  ground,  except  on  those  great  public  occasions  when 
his  pride  triumphed  over  his  grief.  Every  day,  in  his  last  years, 
something  occurred  to  wound  his  vanity,  and  alienate  him  from 
all  the  world  but  Madame  de  Maintenon,  the  only  being  whom  he 
fully  trusted,  and  who  did  not  deceive  him.  Indeed,  the  humiliated 
monarch  was  an  object  of  pity  as  well  as  of  reproach,  and  his 
death  was  a  relief  to  himself,  as  well  as  to  his  family.  He  died 
in  1715,  two  years  after  the  peace  of  Utrecht,  not  much  regretted 
by  the  nation. 

Louis  XIV.  cannot  be  numbered  among  the  monsters  of  the 
human  race  who  have  worn  the  purple  of  royalty.  His  chief  and 
worst  vice  was  egotism,  which  was  born  with  him,  which  wa« 
cultivated  by  all  the  influences  of  his  education,  and  by  all  the 
circumstances  of  his  position.  This  absorbing  egotism  made  him 
insensible  to  the  miseries  he  inflicted,  and  cherished  in  his  soul  the 
notion  that  France  was  created  for  him  alone.  His  mistresses, 
his  friends,  his  wives,  his  children,  his  court,  and  the  whole  nation, 
were  viewed  only  as  the  instruments  of  his  pride  and  pleasure. 


CHAP.  XVI.]  HIS    CHARACTER.  251 

All  his  crimes  and  blunders  proceeded  from  his  extiaordinary 
selfishness.  If  we  could  look  on  him  without  this  moral  taint, 
which  corrupted  and  disgraced  him,  we  should  see  an  indulgent 
father  and  a  generous  friend.  He  attended  zealously  to  the  duties 
of  his  station,  and  sought  not  to  shake  off*  his  responsibilities.  He 
loved  pleasure,  but,  in  its  pursuit,  he  did  not  forget  the  affairs  of 
the  realm.  He  rewarded  literature,  and  appreciated  merit.  He 
honored  the  institutions  of  religion,  and,  in  his  latter  days,  was 
devoted  to  its  duties,  so  far  as  he  understood  them.  He  has  been 
foolishly  panegyrized,  and  as  foolishly  censured.  Still  his  reign 
was  baneful,  on  the  whole,  especially  to  the  interests  of  enlightened 
Christianity  and  to  popular  liberty.  He  was  a  bigoted  Catholic, 
and  sought  to  erect,  on  the  ruins  of  states  and  empires,  an  absolute 
and  universal  throne.  He  failed ;  and  instead  of  bequeathing  to 
his  successors  the  power  which  he  enjoyed,  he  left  them  vast  debts, 
a  distracted  empire,  and  a  discontented  people.  He  bequeathed 
to  France  the  revolution  which  hurled  her  monarch  from  his 
throne,  but  which  was  overruled  for  her  ultimate  good. 


References.  —  Louis  XIV.  et  son  Siecle.  Voltaire's  and  Miss  Par- 
doe's  Histories  of  the  Reign  of  Louis  XIV.  James's  Life  of  Louis  XIV. 
Memoires  du  Due  de  St.  Simon.  The  Abbe  Millot's  History.  D'Anque- 
til's  Louis  XIV.,  sa  Cour,  et  le  R6gent.  Sismondi's  History  of  France. 
Crowe's  and  Rankin's  Histories  of  France.  Lord  Mahon's  War  of  the 
Spanish  Succession.  Temple's  Memoirs.  Coxe's  Life  of  Marlborough. 
Memoirs  of  Madame  de  Maintenon.  Madame  de  Sevigne's  Letters.  Rus- 
sell's Modern  Europe.  The  late  history  by  Miss  Pardee  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  ever  written.  It  may  have  too  much  gossip  for  what  is 
called  the  "  dignity  of  history ;  "  but  that  fault,  if  fault  it  be,  has  been 
made  by  Macaulay  also,  and  has  been  condemned,  not  unfrequently,  by 
those  most  incapable  of  appreciating  philosophical  history. 


252  WILLIAM   AND   MART.  [cHAP.  XVII. 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

WILLIAM   AND    MARY. 

From  Louis  XIV.  we  turn  to  consider  the  reign  of  his  illustrious 
rival,  William  III.,  King  of  England,  who  enjoyed  the  throne 
conjointly  with  Mary,  daughter  of  James  II. 

The  early  life  and  struggles  of  this  heroic  prince  have  been 
already  alluded  to,  in  the  two  previous  chapters,  and  will  not  be 
further  discussed.  On  the  12th  day  of  February,  1689,  he  arrived 
at  Whitehall,  the  favorite  palace  of  the  Stuart  kings,  and,  on  the 
1 1th  of  April,  he  and  Mary  were  crowned  in  Westminster  Abbey. 

Their  reign  is  chiefly  memorable  for  the  war  with  Louis  XIV., 
the  rebellion  in  Ireland,  fomented  by  the  intrigues  of  James  II., 
and  for  the  discussion  of  several  great  questions  pertaining  to  the 
liberties  and  the  prosperity  of  the  English  nation,  questions  in  rela- 
tion to  the  civil  list,  the  Place  Bill,  the  Triennial  Bill,  the  liberty 
of  the  press,  a  standing  army,  the  responsibility  of  ministers,  the 
veto  of  the  crown,  the  administration  of  Ireland,  the  East  India 
Company,  the  Bank  of  England,  and  the  funded  debt.  These 
topics  make  the  domestic  history  of  the  country,  especially  in  a 
constitutional  point  of  view,  extremely  important. 

The  great  struggle  with  Louis  XIV.  has  already  received  all  the 
notice  which  the  limits  of  this  work  will  allow,  in  which  it  was 
made  to  appear  that,  if  Louis  XIV.  was  the  greater  king,  William 
III.  was  the  greater  man ;  and,  although  his  military  enterprises 
were,  in  one  sense,  unsuccessful,  since  he  did  not  triumph  in 
splendid  victories,  still  he  opposed  successfully  what  would  have 
bedn,  without  his  heroism,  an  overwhelming  torrent  of  invasion 
and  conquest,  in  consequence  of  vastly  superior  forces.  The 
French  king  was  eventually  humbled,  and  the  liberties  of  conti- 
nental Europe  were  preserved. 

Under  the  wise,  tolerant,  and  liberal  administration  of  William, 
the  British  empire  was  preserved  from  disunion,  and  invaluable 
liberties  and  privileges  were  guaranteed. 


CHAP.  XVII.]  IRISH   EEBELLION.  253 

Scarcely  was  he  seated  on  the  throne,  which  his  wife  inherited 
from  the  proud  descendants  of  the  Norman  Conqueror,  when  a 
rebeUion  in  Ireland  broke  out,  and  demanded  his  presence  in  that 
distracted  and  unfortunate  country. 

The  Irish  people,  being  Roman  Catholics,  had  sympathized  with 
James  II.  in  all  his  troubles,  and  were  resolved  to  defend  his  cause 
against  a  Calvinistic  king.  In  a  short  time  after  his  estabhshment 
at  St.  Germain's,  through  the  bounty  of  the  French  king,  he  began 
to  intrigue  with  the  disaffected  Irish  chieftains.  The  most  noted 
of  these  was  Tyrconnel,  who  contrived  to  deprive  the  Protestants 
of  Lord  Mountjoy,  their  most  trusted  and  able  leader,  by  sending 
him  on  a  mission  to  James  II.,  by  whose  influence  he  was  con- 
fined, on  his  arrival  at  Paris,  in  the  Bastile.  Tyrconnel  then  pro- 
ceeded to  disarm  the  Protestants,  and  recruit  the  Catholic  army, 
which  was  raised  in  two  months  to  a  force  of  forty  thousand  men, 
burning  to  revenge  their  past  injuries,  and  recover  their  ancient 
possessions  and  privileges.  James  II.  was  invited  by  the  army  to 
take  possession  of  his  throne.  He  accepted  the  invitation,  and, 
early  in  1689,  made  his  triumphal  entry  into  Dublin,  and  was 
received  with  a  pomp  and  homage  equal  to  his  dignity.  But  James 
did  not  go  to  Ireland  merely  to  enjoy  the  homage  and  plaudits  of 
the  Irish  people,  but  to  defend  the  last  foothold  which  he  retained 
as  King  of  England,  trusting  that  success  in  Ireland  would  event- 
ually restore  to  him  the  throne  of  his  ancestors.  And  he  was 
cordially,  but  not  powerfully,  supported  by  the  French  king,  who 
was  at  war  with  England,  and  who  justly  regarded  Ireland  as  the 
most  assailable  part  of  the  British  empire. 

The  Irish  parliament,  in  the  interest  of  James,  passed  an  act  of 
attainder  against  all  Protestants  who  had  assisted  William,  among 
whom  were  two  archbishops,  one  duke,  seventeen  earls,  eighteen 
barons,  and  eighty-three  clergymen.  By  another  act,  Ireland  was 
made  independent  of  England.  The  Protestants  were  every  where 
despoiled  and  insulted. 

But  James  was  unequal  to  the  task  he  had  assumed,  incapable 
either  of  preserving  Ireland  or  retaking  England.  He  was  irres- 
olute and  undecided.  He  could  not  manage  an  Irish  House  of 
Commons  any  better  than  he  could  an  English  one.  He  debased 
the  coin,  and  resorted  to  irritating  measures  to  raise  money. 
22 


w 


2M  KING    JAMES    IN    IRELANUlH  [CHAP.  XVIT. 

At  last  he  concluded  to  subdue  the  Protestants  in  Ulster,  and 
advanced  to  lay  siege  to  Londonderry,  upon  which  depended  the. 
fate  of  the  north  of  Ireland.  It  was  bravely  defended  by  the 
inhabitants,  and  finally  relieved  by  the  troops  sent  over  from  Eng- 
land under  the  command  of  Kirke  —  the  same  who  inflicted  the 
cruelties  in  the  west  of  England  under  James  II.  But  William 
wanted  able  officers,  and  he  took  them  indiscriminately  from  all 
parties.  Nine  thousand  people  miserably  perished  by  famine  and 
disease  in  the  town,  before  the  siege  was  raised,  one  of  the  most 
memorable  in  the  annals  of  war. 

Ulster  was  now  safe,  and  the  discomfiture  of  James  was  rapidly 
effected.  Old  Marshal  Schomberg  was  sent  into  Ireland  with 
sixteen  thousand  veteran  troops,  and,  shortly  after,  William  him- 
self (June  14,  1690)  landed  at  Carrickfergus,  near  Belfast,  with 
additional  men,  who  swelled  the  Protestant  army  to  forty  thousand. 

The  contending  forces  advanced  to  the  conflict,  and  on  the  1st 
of  July  was  fought  the  battle  of  the  Boyne,  in  which  Schomberg 
was  killed,  but  which  resulted  in  the  defeat  of  the  troops  of 
James  II.  The  discomfited  king  fled  to  Dublin,  but  quitted  it  as 
soon  as  he  had  entered  it,  and.  embarked  hastily  at  Waterford  for 
France,  leaving  the  Earl  of  Tyrconnel  to  contend  with  vastly 
superior  forces,  and  to  make  the  best  terms  in  his  power. 

The  country  was  speedily  subdued,  and  all  the  important  cities 
and  fortresses,  one  after  the  other,  surrendered  to  the  king.  Lim- 
erick held  out  the  longest,  and  made  an  obstinate  resistance,  but 
finally  yielded  to  the  conqueror ;  and  with  its  surrender  termi- 
nated the  final  efforts  of  the  old  Irish  inhabitants  to  regain  the 
freedom  which  they  had  lost.  Four  thousand  persons  were  out- 
lawed, and  their  possessions  confiscated.  Indeed,  at  different  times, 
the  whole  country  has  been  confiscated,  with  the  exception  of  the 
possessions  of  a  few  families  of  English  blood.  In  the  reign  of 
James  I.,  the  whole  province  of  Ulster,  containing  three  millions 
of  acres,  was  divided  among  the  new  inhabitants.  At  the  restora- 
tion, eight  millions  of  acres,  and,  after  the  surrender  of  Limerick, 
one  million  more  of  acres,  were  confiscated.  During  the  reign  of 
William  and  Mary,  the  Catholic  Irish  were  treated  with  extreme 
rigor,  and  Ireland  became  a  field  for  place-hunters.  All  important 
or  lucrative  offices  in  the  church,  the  state,  and  the  army,  were 


OHAP.  XVII.]        FREEDOM  OF  THE  PRESS.  255 

filled  with  the  needy  dependants  of  the  great  Whig  families. 
Injustice  to  the  nation  was  constantly  exercised,  and  penal  laws 
were  imposed  by  the  English  parliament,  and  in  reference  to  mat- 
ters which  before  came  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Irish  parlia- 
ment. But,  with  all  these  rigorous  measures,  Ireland  was  still 
ruled  with  more  mildness  than  at  any  previous  period  in  its  his- 
tory, and  no  great  disturbance  again  occurred  until  the  reign  of 
George  III. 

But  the  reign  of  William  IIL,  however  beneficial  to  the  liberties 
of  England  and  of  Europe,  was  far  from  peaceful.  Apart  from 
his  great  struggle  with  the  French  king,  his  comfort  and  his  com- 
posure of  mind  were  continually  disturbed  by  domestic  embarrass- 
ments, arising  from  the  jealousies  between  the  Whigs  and  Tories, 
the  intrigues  of  statesmen  with  the  exiled  family,  and  discussions 
in  parliament  in  reference  to  those  great  questions  which  attended 
the  settlement  of  the  constitution.  A  bill  was  passed,  called  the 
Place  Bill,  excluding  all  officers  of  the  crown  from  the  House  of 
Commons,  which  showed  the  jealousy  of  the  people  respecting 
royal  encroachments.  A  law  also  was  passed,  called  the  Triennial 
Bill,  which  limited  the  duration  of  parliament  to  three  years,  but 
which,  in  a  subsequent  reign,  was  repealed,  and  one  substituted 
which  extended  the  duration  of  a  parliament  to  seven  years.  An 
important  bill  was  also  passed  which  regulated  trials  in  case  of 
treason,  in  which  the  prisoner  was  furnished  with  a  copy  of  the 
indictment,  with  the  names  and  residences  of  jurors,  with  the  privi- 
lege of  peremptory  challenge,  and  with  full  defence  of  counsel. 
This  bill  guaranteed  new  privileges  and  rights  to  prisoners. 

The  great  question  pertaining  to  the  Liberty  of  the  Press  was 
discussed  at  this  time  —  one  of  the  most  vital  questions  which 
affect  the  stability  of  government  on  the  one  side,  and  the  liberties 
of  the  people  on  the  other.  So  desirable  have  all  governments 
deemed  the  control  of  the  press  by  themselves,  that  parliament, 
when  it  abolished  the  Star  Chamber,  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  still 
assumed  its  powers  respecting  the  licensing  of  books.  Various 
modifications  were,  from  time  to  time,  made  in  the  laws  pertaining 
lo  licensing  books,  until,  in  the  reign  of  William,  the  liberty  of 
the  press  was  established  nearly  upon  its  present  basis. 

William,  in  general,  was  in  favor  of  those  movements  which 


SSS    ACT    OF    SETTLEMENT DEATH    OF    WILLIAM    III.    [cHAP.  XVII. 

proved  beneficial  in  after  times,  or  which  the  wisdom  of  a  subse- 
quent age  saw  fit  to  adopt.  Among  these  was  the  union  of  Eng- 
land and  Scotland,  which  he  recommended.  Under  his  auspices, 
the  aflfairs  of  the  East  India  Company  were  considered  and  new 
charters  granted ;  the  Bank  of  England  was  erected ;  benevolent 
action  for  the  suppression  of  vice  and  for  the  amelioration  of  the 
condition  of  the  poor  took  place ;  the  coinage  was  adjusted ;  and 
financial  experiments  were  made. 

The  crown,  on  the  whole,  lost  power  during  this  reign,  which 
was  transferred  to  the  House  of  Commons.  The  Commons  ac- 
quired the  complete  control  of  the  purse,  which  is  considered  para- 
mount to  all  other  authority.  Prior  to  the  Revolution,  the  supply 
for  the  public  service  was  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  sovereign, 
but  the  definite  sum  of  seven  hundred  thousand  pounds,  yearly, 
was  placed  at  the  disposal  of  William,  to  defray  the  expense  of 
the  civil  list  and  his  other  expenses,  while  the  other  contingent 
expenses  of  government,  including  those  for  the  support  of  the 
army  and  navy,  were  annually  appropriated  by  the  Commons. 

The  most  important  legislative  act  of  this  reign  was  the  Act  of 
Settlement,  March  12,  1701,  which  provided  that  England  should 
be  freed  from  the  obligation  of  engaging  in  any  war  for  the 
defence  of  the  foreign  dominions  of  the  king ;  that  all  succeeding 
kings  must  be  of  the  communion  of  the  Church  of  England ;  that 
no  succeeding  king  should  go  out  of  the  British  dominions  without 
consent  of  parliament ;  that  no  person  in  office,  or  pensioner, 
should  be  a  member  of  the  Commons  ;  that  the  religious  liberties 
of  the  people  should  be  further  secured  ;  that  the  judges  should  hold 
office  during  good  behavior,  and  have  their  salaries  ascertained ; 
and  that  the  succession  to  the  throne  should  be  confined  to  Prot- 
estant princes. 

King  William  reigned  in  England  thirteen  years,  with  much 
ability,  and  sagacity,  and  prudence,  and  never  attempted  to  sub- 
vert the  constitution,  for  which  his  memory  is  dear  to  the  English 
people.  But  most  of  his  time,  as  king,  was  occupied  in  directing 
warlike  operations  on  the  Continent,  and  in  which  he  showed 
a  great  jealousy  of  the  genius  of  Marlborough,  whose  merits  he 
nevertheless  finally  admitted.  He  died  March  8,  1702,  and  was 
buried  in  the  sepulchre  of  the  kings  of  England. 


CHAP.  XVII.]  CHARACTER   OF   WILLIAM.  257 

Notwithstanding  the  animosity  of  different  parties  against  Wil- 
liam in.,  public  opinion  now  generally  awards  to  him,  considering 
the  difficulties  with  which  he  had  to  contend,  the  first  place  among; 
the  English  kings.  He  had  many  enemies  and  many  defects. 
The  Jacobites  hated  him  because  "  he  upset  their  theory  of  the 
divine  rights  of  kings  ;  the  High  Churchmen  because  he  was  in- 
different to  the  forms  of  church  government ;  the  Tories  because 
he  favored  the  Whigs ;  and  the  Republicans  because  he  did  not 
again  try  the  hopeless  experiment  of  a  republic."  He  was  not  a 
popular  idol,  in  spite  of  his  great  services  and  great  qualities, 
because  he  was  cold,  reserved,  and  unyielding ;  because  he  dis- 
dained to  flatter,  and  loved  his  native  better  than  his  adopted 
country.  But  his  faults  were  chiefly  offences. against  good  man- 
ners, and  against  the  prejudices  of  the  nation.  He  distrusted 
human  nature,  and  disdained  human  sympathy.  He  was  am- 
bitious, and  his  ambition  was  allied  with  selfishness.  He  per- 
mitted the  slaughter  of  the  De  Witts,  and  never  gave  Marlborough 
a  command  worthy  of  his  talents.  He  had  lio  taste  for  literature, 
wit,  or  the  fine  arts.  His  favorite  tastes  were  hunting,  gardening, 
and  upholstery.  That  he  was,  howq^er,  capable  of  friendship, 
is  attested  by  his  long  and  devoted  attachment  to  Bentinck,  whom 
he  created  Earl  of  Portland,  and  splendidly  rewarded  with  rich 
and  extensfve  manors  in  every  part  of  the  land.  His  reserve  and 
coldness  may  in  part  be  traced  to  his  profound  knowledge  of 
mankind,  whom  he  feared  to  trust.  But  if  he  was  not  beloved 
by  the  nation,  he  secured  their  eternal  respect  by  being  the  first 
to  solve  the  problem  of  constitutional  monarchy,  and  by  success- 
fully ruling,  at  a  very  critical  period,  the  Dutch,  the  English,  the 
Scotch,  and  the  Irish,  who  had  all  separate  interests  and  jealousies  ; 
by  yielding,  when  in  possession  of  great  power,  to  restraints  he  did 
not  like ;  and  by  undermining  the  intrigues  and  power  of  so 
mighty  an  enemy  of  European  liberties  as  Louis  XIV.  His 
heroism  shone  brilliantly  in  defeat  and  disaster,  and  his  courage 
and  exertion  never  flagged  when  all  Europe  desponded,  and 
when  he  himself  labored  under  all  the  pains  and  lassitude  of 
protracted  disease.  He  died  serenely,  but  hiding  from  his  attend- 
ants, as  he  did  all  his  days,  the  profoundest  impressions  which 
agitated  his  earnest  and  heroic  soul. 
22*  S 


258  SIR    ISAAC    NEWTON    AND   JOHN    LOCKE.       [cHAP.  XVII. 

Among  the  great  men  whom  he  encouraged  and  rewarded, 
may  be  mentioned  the  historian  Burnet,  whom  he  made  Bishop  of 
Salisbury,  and  Tillotson  and  Tennison,  whom  he  elevated  to 
archiepiscopal  thrones.  Dr.  South  and  Dr.  Bentley  also  adorned 
this  age  of  eminent  divines.  The  great  poets  of  the  period  were 
Prior,  Dryden,  Swift,  and  Pope,  who,  however,  are  numbered 
more  frequently  among  the  wits  of  the  reign  of  Anne.  Robert 
Boyle  distinguished  himself  for  experiments  in  natural  science,  and 
zeal  for  Christian  knowledge  ;  and  Christopher  Wren  for  his 
genius  in  architectural  art.  But  the  two  great  lights  of  this  reign 
were,  doubtless,  Sir  Isaac  Newton  and  John  Locke,  to  whom  the 
realm  of  natural  and  intellectual  philosophy  is  more  indebted  than 
to  any  other  men  of  genius  from  the  time  of  Bacon.  The  discov- 
eries of  Newton  are  scarcely  without  a  parallel,  and  he  is  generally 
regarded  as  the  greatest  mathematical  intellect  that  England  has 
produced.  To  him  the  world  is  indebted  for  the  binomial  theorem, 
discovered  at  the  age  of  twenty-two ;  for  the  invention  of  fluxions ; 
for  the  demonstration  of  the  law  of  gravitation ;  and  for  the  dis- 
covery of  the  different  refrangibility  of  rays  of  light.  His  treatise 
on  Optics  and  his  Principi^  in  which  he  brought  to  light  the  new 
theory  of  the  universe,  place  him  at  the  head  of  modern  philoso- 
phers—  on  a  high  vantage  ground,  to  which  none  have  been 
elevated,  of  his  age,  with  the  exception  of  Leibnitz  and  Galileo. 
But  his  greatest  glory  was  his  modesty,  and  the  splendid  tribute  he 
rendered  to  the  truths  of  Christianity,  whose  importance  and 
sublime  beauty  he  was  ever  most  proud  to  acknowledge  in  an  age 
of  levity  and  indifference. 

John  Locke  is  a  name  which  almost  exclusively  belongs  to  the 
reign  of  William  III.,  and  he  will  also  ever  be  honorably  men- 
tioned in  the  constellation  of  the  very  great  geniuses  and  Christians 
of  the  world.  His  treatises  on  Religious  Toleration  are  the  most 
masterly  ever  written,  while  his  Essay  on  the  Human  Understand- 
ing is  a  great  system  of  truth,  as  complete,  original,  and  logical, 
in  the  department  of  mental  science,  as  was  the  system  of  Calvin 
in  the  realm  of  theology.  Locke's  Essay  has  had  its  enemies  and 
detractors,  and,  while  many  eminent  men  have  dissented  from  it, 
it  nevertheless  remains,  one  of  the  most  enduring  and  proudest 
monuments  of  the  immortal  and  ever-expanding  intellect  of  man 


CHAP.  XVII.]  ANNE.  259 

On  the  death  of  William  III.,  (1702,)  the  Princess  Anne,  daughter 
of  James  II.,  peaceably  ascended  the  throne.  She  was  thirty-seven 
years  of  age,  a  woman  of  great  weaknesses,  and  possessing  but 
few  interesting  qualities.  Nevertheless,  her  reign  is  radiant  with 
the  glory  of  military  successes,  and  adorned  with  every  grace  of 
fancy,  wit,  and  style  in  literature.  The  personal  talent  and  exclu- 
sive ambition  of  William  suppressed  the  national  genius ;  but  the 
incapacity  of  Anne  gave  scope  for  the  commanding  abilities  of. 
Marlborough  in  the  field,  and  Godolphin  in  the  cabinet. 

The  memorable  events  connected  with  her  reign  of  twelve 
years,  were,  the  war  of  the  Spanish  succession,  in  which  Marlbo- 
rough humbled  the  pride  of  Louis  XIV. ;  the  struggles  of  the 
Whigs  and  Tories ;  the  union  of  Scotland  with  England  ;  the  dis- 
cussion and  settlement  of  great  questions  pertaining  to  the  consti- 
tution, and  the  security  of  the  Protestant  religion  ;  and  the  impulse 
which  literature  received  from  the  constellation  of  learned  men 
who  were  patronized  by  the  government,  and  who  filled  an  unusual 
place  in  public  estimation. 

In  a  political  point  of  view,  this  reign  is  but  the  continuation  of 
the  reign  of  William,  since  the  same  objects  were  pursued,  the 
same  policy  was  adopted,  and  the  same  great  characters  were 
intrusted  with  power.  The  animating  object  of  William's  life 
was  the  suppression  of  the  power  of  Louis  XIV. ;  and  this  object 
was  never  lost  sight  of  by  the  English  government  under  the 
reign  of  Anne. 

Hence  the  great  political  event  of  the  reign  was  the  war  of  the 
Spanish  succession,  which,  however,  pertains  to  the  reign  of  Louis 
as  well  as  to  that  of  Anne.  It  was  during  this  war  that  the  great 
battles  of  Blenheim,  Ramillies,  and  Malplaquet  attested  the  genius 
Oi  the  greatest  military  commander  that  England  had  ever  sent 
into  the  field.  It  was  this  war  which  exhausted  the  energies  and 
resources  of  all  the  contending  states  of  Europe,  and  created  a 
necessity  for  many  years  of  slumbering  repose.  It  was  this  war 
which  completed  the  humiliation  of  a  monarch  who  aspired  to  the 
sovereignty  of  Europe,  which  preserved  the  balance  of  power,  and 
secured  the  liberties  of  Europe.  Yet  it  was  a  war  which  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  national  debt,  inflamed  the  English  mind  with 
a  mad  passion  for  military  glory,  which  demoralized  the  nation. 


260  THB   DUKE   OF   MARLBOROUGH.  [cHAP.  XVII. 

and  fostered  those  international  jealousies  and  enmities  which  are 
still  a  subject  of  reproach  to  the  two  most  powerful  states  of 
Europe.  This  war  made  England  a  more  prominent  actor  on 
the  arena  of  European  strife,  and  perhaps  contributed  to  her  po- 
litical aggrandizement.  The  greatness  of  the  British  empire 
begins  to  date  from  this  period,  although  this  greatness  is  more 
to  be  traced  to  colonial  possessions,  manufactures,  and  commercial 
wealth,  than  to  the  victories  of  Marlborough. 

It  will  ever  remain  an  open  question  whether  or  not  it  was  wise 
in  the  English  nation  to  continue  so  long  the  struggle  with  Louis 
XIV.  In  a  financial  and  material  point  of  view,  the  war  proved 
disastrous.  But  it  is  difficult  to  measure  the  real  greatness  of  a 
country,  and  solid  and  enduring  blessings,  by  pounds,  shillings,  and 
pence.  All  such  calculations,  however  statistically  startling,  are 
erroneous  and  deceptive.  The  real  strength  of  nations  consists  in 
loyalty,  patriotism,  and  public  spirit ;  and  no  sacrifices  can  be  too 
great  to  secure  these  unbought  blessings  —  "  this  cheap  defence." 
If  the  victories  of  Marlborough  secured  these,  gave  dignity  to  the 
British  name,  and  an  honorable  and  lofty  self-respect  to  the  Eng- 
lish people,  they  were  not  dearly  purchased.  But  the  settlement 
of  these  questions  cannot  be  easily  made. 

As  to  the  remarkable  genius  of  the  great  man  who  infused 
courage  into  the  English  mind,  there  can  be  no  question.  Marl- 
borough, in  spite  of  his  many  faults,  his  selfishness  and  parsimony, 
his  ambition  and  duplicity,  will  ever  enjoy  an  enviable  fame.  He 
was  not  so  great  a  moral  hero  as  William,  nor  did  he  contend  against 
such  superior  forces  as  the  royal  hero.  But  he  was  a  great  hero, 
nevertheless.  His  glory  was  reached  by  no  sudden  indulgence  of 
fortune,  by  no  fortunate  movements,  by  no  accidental  circum- 
stances. His  fame  was  progressive.  He  never  made  a  great 
mistake  ;  he  never  lost  the  soundness  of  his  judgment.  No  suc- 
cess unduly  elated  him,  and  no  reverses  discouraged  him.  He 
never  forgot  the  interests  of  the  nation  in  his  own  personal  annoy- 
ances or  enmities.  He  was  magnanimously  indulgent  to  those 
Dutch  deputies  who  thwarted  his  measures,  criticized  his  plans, 
and  lectured  him  on  the  art  of  war.  The  glory  of  his  countiy  was 
the  prevailing  desire  of  his  soul.  He  was  as  great  in  diplomacy 
and  statesmanship  as  on  the  field  of  Blenheim.     He  ever  sacri- 


CHAP.  XVII.]      CHARACTER  OF  MARLBOROUGH. 


261 


ficed  his  feelings  as  a  victorious  general  to  his  duty  as  a  subject. 
His  sagacity  was  only  equalled  by  his  prudence  and  patience,  and 
these  contributed,  as  well  as  his  personal  braveiy,  to  his  splendid 
successes,  which  secured  for  him  magnificent  rewards  —  palaces 
and  parks,  peerages,  and  a  nation's  gratitude  and  praise. 

But  there  is  a  limit  to  all  human  glory.  Marlborough  was  under- 
mined by  his  political  enemies,  and  he  himself  lost  the  confidence 
of  the  queen  whom  he  had  served,  partly  by  his  own  impe- 
rious conduct,  and  partly  from  the  overbearing  insolence  of  his 
wife.  From  the  height  of  popular  favor,  he  descended  to  the 
'depth  of  popular  hatred.  He  was  held  up,  by  the  sarcasm  of  the 
writers  whom  he  despised,  to  derision  and  obloquy  ;  was  accused 
of  insolence,  cruelty,  ambition,  extortion,  and  avarice,  discharged 
from  his  high  offices,  and  obliged  to  seek  safety  by  exile.  He 
never  regained  the  confidence  of  the  nation,  although,  when  he 
died,  parliament  decreed  him  a  splendid  funeral,  and  a  grave  in 
Westminster  Abbey. 

In  private  life,  he  was  amiable  and  kind  ;  was  patient  under  con- 
tradiction, and  placid  in  manners  ;  had  great  self-possession,  and 
extraordinary  dignity.  His  person  was  beautiful,  and  his  address 
commanding.  He  was  feared  as  a  general,  but  loved  as  a  man. 
He  never  lost  his  affections  for  his  home,  and  loved  to  idolatry  his 
imperious  wife,  his  equal,  if  not  superior,  in  the  knowledge  of 
human  nature.  These  qualities  as  a  man,  a  general,  and  a 
statesman,  in  spite  of  his  defects,  have  immortalized  his  name, 
and  he  will,  for  a  long  time  to  come,  be  called,  and  called  with 
justice,  the  great  Duke  of  Marlborough. 

Scarcely  less  than  he,  was  Lord  Godolphin,  the  able  prime 
minister  of  Anne,  with  whom  Marlborough  was  united  by  family 
ties,  by  friendship,  by  official  relations,  and  by  interest.  He  was 
a  Tory  by  profession,  but  a  Whig  in  his  policy.  He  rose  with 
Marlborough,  and  fell  with  him,  being  an  unflinching  advocate  for 
the  prosecution  of  the  war  to  the  utmost  limits,  for  which  his 
government  was  distasteful  to  the  Tories.  His  life  was  not 
stainless ;  but,  in  an  age  of  corruption,  he  ably  administered  the 
treasury  department,  and  had  control  of  unbounded  wealth, 
without  becoming  rich  —  the  highest  praise  which  can  ever  bo 
awarded  to   a  minister  of  finance.      It  was   only   through  tho 


I 

362  WHIGS   AND   TORIES.  [cHAP.  XV 11. 

cooperation  of  this  sagacious  and  far-sighted  statesman  thai  Marl- 
borough himself  was  enabled  to  prosecute  his  brilliant  military 
career. 

It  was  during  his  administration  that  party  animosity  was  at  its 
height  —  the  great  struggle  which  has  been  going  on,  in  England, 
for  nearly  two  hundred  years,  between  the  Whigs  and  Tories. 
These  names  originated  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  and  were  terms 
of  reproach.  The  court  party  reproached  their  antagonists  with 
their  affinity  to  the  fanatical  conventiclers  in  Scotland,  who  were 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Whigs ;  and  the  country  party  pretended 
to  find  a  resemblance  between  the  courtiers  and  the  Popish  banditti 
of  Ireland,  to  whom  the  appellation  of  Tory  was  affixed.  The 
High  Church  party  and  the  advocates  of  absolutism  belonged  to 
the  Tories  ;  the  more  liberal  party  and  the  advocates  of  constitu- 
tional reform,  to  the  Whigs.  The  former  were  conservative,  the 
latter  professed  a  sympathy  with  improvements.  But  the  leaders 
of  both  parties  were  among  the  greatest  nobles  in  the  realm,  and 
probably  cared  less  for  any  great  innovation  than  they  did  for 
themselves.  These  two  great  parties,  in  the  progress  of  society, 
have  changed  their  views,  and  the  opinions  once  held  by  the 
Whigs  were  afterwards  adopted  by  the  Tories.  On  the  whole, 
the  Whigs  were  in  advance  in  liberality  of  mind,  and  in  enlightened 
plans  of  government.  But  both  parties,  in  England,  have  ever 
been  aristocratic,  and  both  have  felt  nearly  an  equal  disgust  of 
popular  influences.  Charles  and  James  sympathized  with  the 
Tories  more  than  with  the  Whigs ;  but  William  III.  was  supported 
by  the  Whigs,  who  had  the  ascendency  in  his  reign.  Queen 
Anne  was  a  Tory,  as  was  to  be  expected  from  a  princess  of  the 
house  of  Stuart ;  but,  in  the  early  part  of  her  reign,  was  obliged 
to  yield  to  the  supremacy  of  the  Whigs.  The  advocates  for  war 
were  Whigs,  and  those  who  desired  peace  were  Tories.  The 
Whigs  looked  to  the  future  glory  of  the  country  ;  the  Tories,  to  the 
expenses  which  war  created.  The  Tories  at  last  got  the  ascendency, 
and  expelled  Godolphin,  Marlborough,  and  Sunderland  from  power. 

Of  the  Tory  leaders,  Harley,  (Earl  of  Oxford,)  St.  John,  (Lord 
Bolingbroke,)  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  and  the  Duke  of  Ormond, 
the  Earl  of  Rochester,  and  Lord  Dartmouth,  were  the  most 
prominent ;  but  this  Tory  party  was  itself  divided,  in  consequence 


f 


^>-_  r,.  rmf-^^. 


CHAP.  XVII.]  DR.    HENRY    SACHAr^RELL.  263 

of  jealousies  between  the  chiefs,  the  intrigues  of  Harley,  and  the 
measureless  ambition  of  Bolingbroke.  Under  the  ascendency  of 
the  Tories  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  was  made,  now  generally  con- 
demned by  historians  of  both  Whig  and  Tory  politics.  It  was 
disproportioned  to  the  success  of  the  war,  although  it  secured  the 
ends  of  the  grand  alliance.  ^' 

One  of  the  causes  which  led  t^  the  overthrow  of  the  Whigs 
was  the  impeachment  and  trial  of  Dr.  Henry  Sacheverell,  an 
event  which  excited  intense  interest  at  the  time,  and,  though  insig- 
nificant in  itself,  touched  some  vital  principles  of  the  constitution. 

This  divine  was  a  man  of  mean  capacity,  and  of  little  reputation 
for  learning  or  virtue.  He  had  been,  during  the  reign  of  William, 
an  outrageous  Whig ;  but,  finding  his  services  disregarded,  he 
became  a  violent  Tory.  By  a  sort  of  plausible  effrontery  and 
scurrilous  rhetoric,  he  obtained  the  applause  of  the  people,  and  the 
valuable  living  of  St.  Saviour,  Southwark.  '  The  audacity  of  his 
railings  against  the  late  king  and  the  revolution  at  last  attracted 
the  notice  of  government ;  and  for  two  sermons  which  he  printed, 
and  in  which  he  inculcated,  without  measure,  the  doctrine  of  passive 
obedience,  consigned  Dissenters  to  eternal  damnation,  and  abused 
the  great  principle  of  religious  toleration,  he  was  formally  im- 
peached. All  England  was  excited  by  the  trial.  The  queen 
herself  privately  attended,  to  encourage  a  man  who  was  persecuted 
for  his  loyalty,  and  persecuted  for  defending  his  church.  The 
finest  orators  and  lawyers  of  the  day  put  forth  all  their  energies. 
Bishop  Atterbury  wrote  for  Sacheverell  his  defence,  which  was 
endorsed  by  a  conclave  of  High  Church  divines.  The  result  of  the 
trial  was  the  condemnation  of  the  doctor,  and  with  it  the  fall  of  his 
adversaries.  He  was  suspended  for  three  years,  but  his  defeat 
was  a  triumph.  He  was  received,  in  college  hails  and  private 
mansions,  with  the  pomp  of  a  sovereign  and  the  reverence  of  a 
saint.  His  sentence  made  his  enemies  unpopular.  The  great 
body  of  the  English  nation,  wedded  to  High  Church  principles, 
took  sides  in  his  favor.  But  the  arguments  of  his  accusers 
developed  some  great  principles  —  led  to  the  assertion  of  the 
doctrines  of  toleration  ;  for,  if  passive  obedience  to  the  rulers  of 
the  state  and  church  were  obligatory,  then  all  Dissenters  might  be 
curbed   and   suppressed.     The  Whig  managers  of  the  trial,  by 


264  TTNION    OF    SCOTLAND   AND    ENGLAND.       [cHAP.    XVII 

opposing  the  bigoted  Churchmen,  aided  the  cause  of  dissent,  justi- 
fied the  revolution,  and  upheld  the  conquest  by  William  III.  And 
their  speeches  are  upon  record,  that  they  asserted  the  great 
principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  in  the  face  of  all  the 
authority,  dignity,  and  wisdom  of  the  realm.  It  is  true  they  lost 
as  a  party,  on  account  of  the  bigotry  of  the  times ;  but  they 
furnished  another  pillar  to  uphold  the  constitution,  and  ad- 
duced new  and  powerful  arguments  in  support  of  constitutional 
liberty.  The  country  gamed,  if  they,  as  a  party,  lost ;  and  though 
Sacheverell  was  lauded  by  his  church,  his  conviction  was  a 
triumph  to  the  friends  of  freedom.  Good  resulted  in  many  other 
ways.  Political  leaders  learned  moral  wisdom ;  they  saw  the 
folly  of  persecuting  men  for  libels,  when  such  men  had  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  people ;  that  such  persecutions  were  undignified,  and 
that,  while  they  gained  their  end,  they  lost  more  by  victory  than 
by  defeat.  The  trial  of  Sacheverell,  while  it  brought  to  view 
more  clearly  some  great  constitutional  truths,  also  more  effectually 
advanced  the  liberty  of  the  press ;  for,  surely,  restriction  on  the 
press  is  a  worse  evil,  than  the  violence  and  vituperation  of 
occasional  libels. 

The  great  domestic  event  of  this  reign  was  doubtless  the 
anion  of  Scotland  and  England  ;  a  consummation  of  lasting  peace 
■)etween  the  two  countries,  which  William  III.  had  proposed. 
Nothing  could  be  more  beneficent  for  both  the  countries ;  and  the 
only  wonder  is,  that  it  was  not  done  before,  when  James  II. 
ascended  the  English  throne  ;  and  nothing  then,  perhaps,  prevented 
it,  but  the  bitter  jealousy  which  had  so  long  existed  between  these 
countries ;  a  jealousy,  dislike,  and  prejudice  which  have  hardly 
yet  passed  away. 

Scotland,  until  the  reign  of  James  II.,  was  theoretically  and 
practically  independent  of  England,  but  was  not  so  fortunately 
placed,  as  the  latter  country,  for  the  development  of  energies. 
The  country  was  smaller,  more  barren,  and  less  cultivated.  The 
people  were  less  civilized,  and  had  less  influence  on  the  political 
welfare  of  the  state.  The  aristocracy  were  more  powerful,  and 
were  more  jealous  of  royal  authority.  There  were  constant 
feuds  and  jealousies  between  dominant  classes,  which  checked  the 
growth  in  political  importance,  wealth,  and  civilization.     But  the 


CHAP.  XVII.]  DUKE    OF   HAMILTON.  265 

people  were  more  generally  imbued  with  the  ultra  principles  of 
the  Reformation,  were  more  religious,  and  cherished  a  peculiar 
attachment  to  the  Presbyterian  form  of  church  government,  and 
a  peculiar  hatred  of  every  thing  which  resembled  Roman 
Catholicism.  They  were,  moreover,  distinguished  for  patriotism, 
and  had  great  jealousy  of  English  influences. 

James  II.  was  the  legitimate  King  of  Scotland,  as  well  as  of 
England ;  but  he  soon  acquired  a  greater  love  for  England,  than 
he  retained  for  his  native  country ;  and  England  being  the 
greater  country,  the  interests  of  Scotland  were  frequently 
sacrificed  to  those  of  England. 

Queen  Anne,  as  the  daughter  of  James  II.,  was  also  the  legiti- 
mate sovereign  of  Scotland  ;  and,  on  her  decease,  the  Scotch  were 
not  bound  to  acknowledge  the  Elector  of  Hanover  as  their  legiti- 
mate king. 

Many  ardent  and  patriotic  Scotchmen,  including  the  Duke  of 
Hamilton  and  Fletcher  of  Saltoun,  deemed  it  a  favorable  time  to 
assert,  on  the  death  of  Queen  Anne,  their  national  independence, 
since  the  English  government  was  neither  just  nor  generous  to  the 
lesser  country. 

Under  these  circumstances,  there  were  many  obstacles  to  a 
permanent  union,  and  it  was  more  bitterly  opposed  in  Scotland 
than  in  England.  The  more  patriotic  desired  complete  independ- 
ence. Many  were  jealous  of  the  superior  prosperity  of  England. 
The  people  in  the  Highlands  and  the  north  of  Scotland  were  Jaco- 
binical in  their  principles,  and  were  attached  to  the  Stuart  dynast}^ 
The  Presbyterians  feared  the  influence  of  English  Episcopacy, 
and  Scottish  peers  deprecated  a  servile  dependence  on  the  parlia- 
ment of  England. 

But  the  English  government,  on  the  whole,  much  as  it  hated 
Scotch  Presbyterianism  and  Scotch  influence,  desired  a  union,  in 
order  to  secure  the  peaceful  succession  of  the  house  of  Hanover ; 
for  the  north  of  Scotland  was  favorable  to  the  Stuarts,  and  without 
a  union,  English  liberties  would  be  endangered  by  Jacobinical 
intrigues.  English  statesmen  felt  this,  and  used  every  measure  to 
secure  this  end. 

The  Scotch  were  overreached.     Force,  bribery,  and  corruption 
were  resorted  to.   The  Duke  of  Hamilton  proved  a  traitor,  and  the 
23 


266  UNION    OF   SCOTLAND   AND   ENGLAND.        [cHAP.  XVII. 

union  was  effected  —  a  union  exceedingly  important  to  the  peace  of 
both  countries,  but  especially  desirable  to  England.  Important  con- 
cessions were  made  by  the  English,  to  which  they  were  driven 
only  by  fear.  They  might  have  ruled  Scotland  as  they  did  Ire- 
land, but  for  the  intrepidity  and  firmness  of  the  Scotch,  who, 
while  negotiations  were  pending,  passed  the  famous  Act  of  Security, 
by  which  the  Scottish  parliament  decreed  the  succession  in  Scot- 
land, on  the  death  of  the  queen,  open  and  elective  ;  the  independ- 
ence and  power  of  parliaments  ;  freedom  in  trade  and  commerce  ; 
and  the  liberty  of  Scotland  to  engage  or  not  in  the  English  conti- 
nental wars.  The  English  parliament  retaliated,  indeed,  by  an  act 
restricting  the  trade  of  Scotland,  and  declaring  Scotchmen  aliens 
throughout  the  English  dominions.  But  the  conflicts  between  the 
Whigs  and  Tories  induced  government  to  repeal  the  act ;  and  the 
commissioners  for  the  union  secured  their  end. 

It  was  agreed,  in  the  famous  treaty  they  at  last  effected,  that 
the  two  kingdoms  of  England  and  Scotland  be  united  into  one,  by 
the  name  of  Great  Britain. 

That  the  succession  to  the  United  Kingdom  shall  remain  to  the 
Princess  Sophia,  Duchess  Dowager  of  Hanover,  and  the  heirs  of 
her  body,  being  Protestants ;  and  that  all  Papists,  and  persons 
marrying  Papists,  shall  be  excluded  from,  and  be  forever  incapable 
of  inheriting,  the  crown  of  Great  Britain  ; 

That  the  whole  people  of  Great  Britain  shall  be  represented  by 
one  parliament,  in  which  sixteen  peers  and  forty-five  commoners, 
chosen  for  Scotland,  should  sit  and  vote  ; 

That  the  subjects  of  the  United  Kingdom  shall  enjoy  an  entire 
freedom  and  intercourse  of  trade  and  navigation,  and  reciprocal 
communication  of  all  other  rights,  privileges,  and  advantages  be- 
longing to  the  subjects  of  either  kingdom  ; 

That  the  laws,  in  regard  to  public  rights  and  civil  government, 
shall  be  the  samp  in  both  countries,  but  that  no  alteration  shall  be 
made  in  the  laws  respecting  private  rights,  unless  for  the  evident 
utility  of  the  subjects  residing  in  Scotland  ; 

That  the  Court  of  Session,  and  all  other  courts  of  judicature 
in  Scotland,  remain  as  before  the  union,  subject,  however,  to 
such  regulations  as  may  be  made  by  the  parliament  of  Great 
Britain. 


CHAP.  XVII.]  WITS    OF    QUEEN   ANNE's   REIGN.  267 

Beside  these  permanent  regulations,  a  sum  of  three  hundred 
and  ninety-eight  thousand  pounds  was  granted  to  Scotland,  as  an 
equivalent  to  the  augmentation  of  the  customs  and  excise. 

By  this  treaty,  the  Scotch  became  identified  with  the  English 
m  interest.  They  lost  their  independence,  but  they  gained  secu- 
rity and  peace  ;  and  rose  in  wealth  and  consequence.  The  nation, 
moreover,  was  burdened  by  the  growth  of  the  national  debt.  The 
advantage  was  mutual,  but  England  gained  the  greater  advantage 
by  shifting  a  portion  of  her  burdens  on  Scotland,  by  securing  the 
hardy  people  of  that  noble  country  to  fight  her  battles,  and  by 
converting  a  nation  of  enemies  into  a  nation  of  friends. 

We  come  now  to  glance  at  those  illustrious  men  who  adorned 
the  literature  of  England  in  this  brilliant  age,  celebrated  for  polit- 
ical as  well  as  literary  writiags. 

Of  these,  Addison,  Swift,  Bolingbroke,  Bentley,  Warburton, 
Arbuthnot,  Gay,  Pope,  Tickell,  Halifax,  Parnell,  Rowe,  Prior, 
Congreve,  Steele,  and  Berkeley,  were  the  most  distinguished. 
Dryden  belonged  to  the  preceding  age ;  to  the  period  of  license 
and  gayety  —  the  greatest  but  most  immoral  of  all  the  great  poets 
of  England,  from  the  time  of  Milton  to  that  of  Pope. 

The  wits  of  Queen  Anne's  reign  were  political  writers  as  well 
as  poets,  and  their  services  were  sought  for  and  paid  by  the  great 
statesmen  of  the  times,  chiefly  of  the  Tory  party.  Marlborough 
neglected  the  poets,  and  they  contributed  to  undermine  his  power. 

Of  these  wits  the  most  distinguished  and  respectable  was  Addison, 
born  1672.  He  was  well  educated,  and  distinguished  himself  at 
Oxford,  and  was  a  fellow  of  Magdalen  College.  His  early  verses, 
which  would  now  be  pronounced  very  inferior,  however  attracted 
the  notice  of  Dryden,  then  the  great  autocrat  of  letters,  and  the  oracle 
of  the  literary  clubs.  At  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  Addison  was  pro- 
vided with  a  pension  from  the  Whig  government,  and  set  out  on 
his  travels.  He  was  afterwards  made  secretary  to  Lord  Halifax, 
and  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons,  but  was  never 
able  to  make  a  speech.  He,  however,  made  up  for  his  failure  as  an 
orator  by  his  power  as  a  writer,  being  a  perfect  master  of  elegant 
satire.  He  was  also  charming  in  private  conversation,  and  his 
society  was  much  sought  by  eminent  statesmen,  scholars,  and 
noblemen.     In  1708,  he  became  secretary  for  Ireland,  and,  while 


268  SWIFT.  [chap.  XVII. 

he  resided  at  Dublin,  wrote  those  delightful  papers  on  which  his 
fame  chiefly  rests.  Not  as  the  author  of  Rosamond,  nor  of  Latin 
verses,  nor  of  the  treatise  on  Medals,  nor  of  Lettera  from  Italy,  nor 
of  the  tragedy  of  Cato,  would  he  now  be  known  to  us.  His  glory 
is  derived  from  the  Tatler  and  Spectator  —  an  entirely  new  spe- 
cies of  writing  in  his  age,  original,  simple,  and  beautiful,  but 
chiefly  marked  for  polished  and  elegant  satire  against  the  follies 
and  bad  taste  of  his  age.  Moreover,  his  numbers  of  the  Spectator 
are  distinguished  for  elevation  of  sentiment,  and  moral  purity, 
without  harshness,  and  without  misanthropy.  He  wrote  three 
sevenths  of  that  immortal  production,  and  on  every  variety  of 
subject,  without  any  attempt  to  be  eloquent  or  intense,  without 
pedantry  and  without  affectation.  The  success  of  the  work  was 
immense,  and  every  one  who  could  £(^ord  it,  had  it  served  on  the 
breakfast  table  with  the  tea  and  toast.  It  was  the  general  subject 
of  conversation  in  all  polite  circles,  and  did  much  to  improve  the 
taste  and  reform  the  morals  of  the  age.  There  was  nothing  which 
he  so  severely  ridiculed  as  the  show  of  learning  without  the  reality, 
coxcombry  in  conversation,  extravagance  in  dress,  female  flirts 
and  butterflies,  gay  and  fashionable  women,  and  all  false  modesty 
and  aflTectation.  But  he  blamed  without  bitterness,  and  reformed 
without  exhortation,  while  he  exalted  what  was  simple,  and  painted 
in  most  beautiful  colors  the  virtues  of  contentment,  simplicity, 
sincerity,  and  cheerfulness. 

His  latter  days  were  imbittered  by  party  animosity,  and  the 
malignant  stings  of  literary  rivals.  Nor  was  he  happy  in  his 
domestic  life,  having  married  a  proud  countess,  who  did  not  appre- 
ciate his  genius.  He  also  became  addicted  to  intemperate  habits. 
Still  he  was  ever  honored  and  respected,  and,  when  he  died,  was 
buried  m  Westminster  Abbey. 

Next  to  Addison  in  fame,  and  superior  in  genius,  was  Swift^ 
born  in  Ireland,  in  1677,  educated  at  Dublin,  and  patronized  by 
Sir  William  Temple.  He  was  rewarded,  finally,  with  the  dean- 
ery of  St.  Patrick's.  He  was  very  useful  to  his  party  by 
his  political  writings ;  but  his  fame  rests  chiefly  on  his  poetry, 
and  his  Gulliver's  Travels,  marked  and  disgraced  by  his  savage 
sarcasm  on  woman,  and  his  vilification  of  human  nature.  He 
was  a  great  master  of  ve'liomous  satire.    He  spared  neither  friends 


CHAP.  XVII.]       POPE BOLINGBROKE GAY PRIOR.  269 

nor  enemies.  He  was  ambitious,  misanthropic  and  selfish.  His 
treatment  of  woman  was  disgraceful  and  heartless  in  the  extreme. 
But  he  was  witty,  learned,  and  natural.  He  was  never  known  to 
laugh,  while  he  convulsed  the  circles  into  which  he  was  thrown. 
He  was  rough  to  his  servants,  insolent  to  inferiors,  and  sycophantic 
to  men  of  rank.  His  distinguishing  power  was  his  unsparing  and 
unscrupulous  sarcasm ;  and  his  invective  was  as  dreadful  as  the 
personal  ridicule  of  Voltaire.  As  a  poet  he  was  respectable,  and 
as  a  writer  he  was  original.  He  was  indifferent  to  literary  fame, 
and  never  attempted  any  higher  style  of  composition  than  that  in 
which  he  could  excel.  His  last  days  were  miserable,  and  he 
lingered  a  long  while  in  hopeless  and  melancholy  idiocy. 

Pope  properly  belongs  to  a  succeeding  age,  though  his  firsi 
writings  attracted  considerable  attention  during  the  life  of  Addison, 
who  first  raised  him  from  obscurity.  He  is  the  greatest,  after 
Dryden,  of  all  the  second  class  poets  of  his  country.  His  Rape 
of  the  Lock,  the  most  original  of  his  poems,  established  his 
fame.  But  his  greatest  works  were  the  translations  of  the  Iliad 
and  Odyssey,  the  Dunciad,  and  his  Essay  on  Man.  He  was 
well  paid  for  his  labors,  and  lived  in  a  beautiful  villa  at  Twick- 
enham, the  friend  of  Bolingbroke,  and  the  greatest  literary 
star  of  his  age.  But  he  was  bitter  and  satirical,  irritable,  parsimo- 
nious, and  vain.  As  a  versifier,  he  has  never  been  equalled.  He 
died  in  1744,  in  the  Romish  faith,  beloved  but  by  few,  and  disliked 
by  the  world  generally. 

Bolingbroke  was  not  a  poet,  but  a  man  of  vast  genius,  a  great 
statesman,  and  a  great  writer  on  history  and  political  philosophy, 
a  man  of  most  fascinating  manners  and  conversation,  brilliant, 
witty,  and  learned,  but  unprincipled  and  intriguing,  the  great 
leader  of  the  Tory  party.  Gay,  as  a  poet,  was  respectable,  but 
poor,  unfortunate,  a  hanger  on  of  great  people,  and  miserably  paid 
for  his  sycophancy.  His  fame  rests  on  his  Fables  and  his  Beg- 
gar's Opera.  Prior  first  made  himself  distinguished  by  his  satire 
called  A  City  Mouse  and  a  Country  Mouse,  aimed  against  Dryden. 
He  was  well  rewarded  by  government,  and  was  sent  as  minister  to 
Paris.  Like  most  of  the  wits  of  his  time,  he  was  convivial,  and 
not  always  particular  in  the  choice  of  his  associates.  Humor  was 
the  natural  turn  of  his  mind.  Steele  was  editor  of  the  Spectator, 
23* 


270  WRITERS    OF   THE   AGE    OF    QUEEN   ANNE.     [cHAP.  XVII. 

and  wrote  some  excellent  papers,  although  vastly  inferior  to  Addi- 
son's. He  is  the  father  of  the  periodical  essay,  was  a  man  of 
fashion  and  pleasure,  and  had  great  experience  in  the  follies  and 
vanities  of  the  world.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  writings  of  the 
great  men  who  adorned  the  age  of  Anne  will  ever  regain  the 
ascendency  they  once  enjoyed,  since  they  have  all  been  surpassed 
in  succeeding  times.  They  had  not  the  fire,  enthusiasm,  or  genius 
which  satisfies  the  wants  of  the  present  generation.  As  poets, 
they  had  no  greatness  of  fancy ;  and  as  philosophers,  they  were 
cold  and  superficial.  Nor  did  they  write  for  the  people,  but  for 
the  great,  with  whom  they  sought  to  associate,  by  whose  praises 
they  were  consoled,  and  by  whose  bread  they  were  sustained. 
They  wrote  for  a  class,  and  that  class  alone,  that  chiefly  seeks  to 
avoid  ridicule  and  abstain  from  absurdity,  that  never  attempts  the 
sublime,  and  never  sinks  to  the  ridiculous  ;  a  class  keen  of  ob- 
servation, fond  of  the  satirical,  and  indifferent  to  all  institutions  and 
enterprises  which  have  for  their  object  the  elevation  of  the  masses, 
or  the  triumph  of  the  abstract  principles  of  truth  and  justice. 


References.  —  Lord  Mahon's  History  of  England,  which  commences 
with  the  peace  of  Utrecht,  is  one  of  the  most  useful  and  interesting  works 
which  have  lately  appeared.  Smollett's  continuation  of  Hume  should  be 
consulted,  although  the  author  was  greater  as  a  novelist  than  as  an  histo- 
rian. Burnet's  history  on  this  period  is  a  standard.  Hallam  should  be 
read  in  reference  to  all  constitutional  questions.  Coxe's  Life  of  Marlbo- 
rough throws  great  light  on  the  period,  and  is  very  valuable.  Macaulay's 
work  will,  of  course,  be  read.  See,  also,  Bolingbroke's  Letters,  and  the 
Duke  of  Berwick's  Memoirs.  A  chapter  in  the  Pictorial  History  is  very 
good  as  to  hterary  history  and  the  progress  of  the  arts  and  sciences.  See, 
fdso,  Johnson's  Lives  of  the  Poets ;  Nichols's  Life  of  Addison ;  Scott's 
life  of  Swift;  Macaulay's  Essay  on  Addison;  and  the  Spectator  and 
Tatler. 


CHAP.  XVIII.]  EAELY   HISTORY    OF    KUSSIA,  271 

CHAPTER     XVIII, 

PETER   THE   GREAT,    AND    RUSSIA. 

While  Louis  XIV.  was  prosecuting  his  schemes  of  aggrandize- 
ment, and  William  III.  was  opposing  those  schemes ;  while  Villeroy, 
Villars,  Marlborough,  and  Eugene  were  contending,  at  the  head  of 
great  armies,  for  their  respective  masters;  a  new  power  was 
arising  at  the  north,  destined  soon  to  become  prominent  among 
the  great  empires  of  the  world.  The  political  importance  of 
Russia  was  not  appreciated  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, until  tlje_  .^reat  resources  of  the  country  were  brought  to  the 
view  of  Europe  by'"-«(^  extraordinary  genius  of  Peter  the  Great. 

The  history  of  Russia,  before  the  reign  of  this  great  prince,  has 
not  excited  much  interest,  and  is  not  particularly  eventful  or 
important.  The  Russians  are  descended  from  the  ancient  Sclavonic 
race,  supposed  to  be  much  inferior  to  the  Germanic  or  Teutonic 
tribes,  to  whom  most  of  the  civilized  nations  of  Europe  trace  their 
origin. 

The  first  great  event  in  Russian  history  is  the  nominal  conver- 
sion of  a  powerful  king  to  Christianity,  in  the  tenth  century,  named 
Vladimir,  whose  reign  was  a  mixture  of  cruelty,  licentiousness,  and 
heroism.  Seeing  the  necessity  of  some  generally  recognized 
religion,  he  sent  ten  of  his  most  distinguished  men  into  all  the 
various  countries  then  known,  to  examine  their  religious  systems. 
Being  semi-barbarians,  they  were  disposed  to  recommend  that  form 
which  had  the  most  imposing  ceremonial,  and  appealed  most  forci- 
bly to  the  senses.  The  commissioners  came  to  Mecca,  but  soon 
left  with  contempt,  since  Mohammedanism  then  made  too  great 
demands  upon  the  powers  of  self-control,  and  prohibited  the  use 
of  many  things  to  which  the  barbarians  were  attached.  They 
were  no  better  pleased  with  the  Manichean  philosophy,  which  then 
extensively  prevailed  in  the  East ;  for  this  involved  the  settlement 
of  abstract  ideas,  for  which  barbarians  had  no  relish.  They  dis- 
liked Roman  Catholicism,  on  account  of  the  arrogant  claims  of  the 


272  THE    TARTAR   CONQUEST.  [cHAP.  XVIII. 

pope.  Judaism  was  spumed,  because  it  had  no  country,  and  its 
professors  were  scattered  over  the  face  of  the  earth.  But  the 
lofty  minarets  of  St.  Sophia,  and  the  extravagant  magnificence  of 
the  Greek  worship,  filled  the  commissioners  with  admiration; 
and  they  easily  induced  Vladimir  to  adopt  the  forms  of  the 
Greek  Church ;  which  has  ever  since  been  the  established  religion 
of  Russia.  But  Christianity,  in  its  corrupted  form,  failed  to  destroy, 
and  scarcely  alleviated,  the  traits  of  barbarous  life.  Old  super- 
stitions and  vices  prevailed ;  nor  were  the  Russian  territories  on  an 
equality  with  the  Gothic  kingdoms  of  Europe,  in  manners,  arts 
learning,  laws,  or  piety. 

When  Genghis  Khan,  with  his  Tartar  hordes,  overran  the  world 
Russia  was  subdued,  and  Tartar  princes  took  possession  of  the 
throne  of  the  ancient  czars.  But  the  Russian  princes,  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  recovered  their  ancient  power.  Alexander 
Nevsky  performed  exploits  of  great  brilliancy ;  gained  important 
victories  over  Danes,  Swedes,  Lithuanians,  and  Teutonic  knights ; 
and  greatly  enlarged  the  boundaries  of  his  kingdom.  In  the  four- 
teenth century,  Moscow  became  a  powerful  city,  to  which  was 
transferred  the  seat  of  government,  which  before  was  Novgorod. 
Under  the  successor  of  Ivan  Kalita,  the  manners,  laws,  and  insti- 
tutions of  the  Russians  becanre~  fixed,  and  the  absolute  power  of 
the  czars  was  established.  Under  Ivan  III.,  who  ascended  the  Mus- 
covite throne  in  1462,  the  Tartar  rule  was  exterminated,  and  the 
various  provinces  and  principalities,  of  which  Russia  was  com- 
posed, were  brought  under  a  central  government.  The  Kremlin, 
with  its  mighty  towers  and  imposing  minarets,  arose  in  all  the 
grandeur  of  Eastern  art  and  barbaric  strength.  The  mines  of  the 
country  were  worked,  the  roads  cleared  of  banditti,  and  a  code  of 
laws  established.  The  veil  which  concealed  Russia  from  the  rest 
of  Europe  was  rent.  An  army  of  three  hundred  thousand  men 
was  enlisted,  Siberia  was  discovered,  the  printing  press  introduced, 
and  civilization  commenced.  But  the  czar  was,  nevertheless,  a 
brutal  tyrant  and  an  abandoned  libertine,  who  massacred  his  son, 
executed  his  nobles,  and  destroyed  his  cities. 

His  successors  were  disgraced  by  every  crime  which  degrades 
humanity ;  and  the  whole  population  remained  in  rudeness  and 
barbarism,  superstition  and  ignorance.     The  clergy  wielded  enor- 


CHAP.  XVIII.]         ACCESSION    OF    PETER   THE   GREAT.  273 

mous  power ;  which,  however,  was  rendered  subservient  to  the 
interests  of  absolutism. 

Such  was  Russia,  when  Peter,  the  son  of  Alexis  Michaelovitz, 
ascended  the  throne,  in  1682  —  a  boy,  ten  years  of  age.  He 
early  exhibited  great  sagacity  and  talent,  but  was  addicted  to  gross 
pleasures.  These,  strangely,  did  not  enervate  him,  or  prevent  him 
from  making  considerable  attainments.  But  he  was  most  distin- 
guished for  a  military  spirit,  which  was  treated  with  contempt  by 
the  Regent  Sophia,  daughter  of  Alexis  by  a  first  marriage.  As 
soon,  however,  as  her  eyes  were  open  to  his  varied  studies  and 
his  ambitious  spirit,  she  became  jealous,  and  attempted  to  secure 
his  assassination.  In  this  she  failed,  and  the  youthful  sovereign 
reigned  supreme  in  Mqscow,  at  the  age  of  seventeen. 

No  sooner  did  he  assume  the  reins  of  empire,  than  his  genius 
blazed  forth  with  singular  brilliancy,  and  the  rapid  development 
of  his  powers  was  a"  subject  of  universal  wonder.  Full  of  courage 
and  energy,  he  found  nothing  too  arduous  for  him  to  undertake ; 
and  he  soon  conceived  the  vast  project  of  changing  the  whole 
system  of  his  government,  and  reforming  the  manners  of  his 
subjects. 

He  first  directed  his  attention  to  the  art  of  war,  and  resolved  to 
increase  the  military  strength  of  his  empire.  With  the  aid  of  Le 
Fort,  a  Swiss  adventurer,  and  Gordon,  a  Scotch  officer,  he  insti- 
tuted, gradually,  a  standing  army  of  twenty  thousand  men,  offi- 
cered, armed,  and  disciplined  after  the  European  model ;  cut  off 
the  long  beards  of  the  soldiers,  took  away  their  robes,  and  changed 
their  Asiatic  dress. 

He  then  conceived  the  idea  of  a  navy,  which  may  be  traced  to 
his  love  of  sailing  in  a  boat,  which  he  had  learned  to  navigate 
himself.  He  studied  assiduously  the  art  of  ship-building,  and 
soon  laid  the  foundation  of  a  navy. 

His  enterprising  and  innovating  spirit  created,  as  it  was  to  be 
expected,  considerable  disaffection  among  the  partisans  of  the  old 
regime  —  the  old  officers  of  the  army,  and  the  nobles,  stripped  of 
many  of  their  privileges.  A  rebellion  was  the  consequence ; 
which,  however,  was  soon  suppressed,  and  the  conspirators  were 
executed  with  unsparing  cruelty. 

He  then  came  to  the  singular  resolution  of  visiting  foreign 
T 


274  Peter's  reforms.  [chap,  xviii. 

countries,  in  order  to  acquire  useful  information,  both  in  respect  to 
the  arts  of  government  and  the  arts  of  civilization.  Many  amus- 
ing incidents  are  recorded  of  him  in  his  travels.  He  journeyed 
incognito ;  clambered  up  the  sides  of  ships,  ascended  the  rigging, 
and  descended  into  the  hold  ;  he  hired  himself  out  as  a  workman 
in  Holland,  lived  on  the  wretched  stipend  which  he  earned  as  a 
ship-carpenter,  and  mastered  all  the  details  of  ship-building.  From 
Holland  he  went  to  England,  where  he  was  received  with  great 
lienor  by  William  III. ;  studied  the  state  of  manufactures  and 
trades,  and  sought  to  gain  knowledge  on  all  common  subjects. 
From  England  he  went  to  Austria,  intending  to  go  afterwards 
to  Italy ;  but  he  was  compelled  to  return  home,  on  account  of 
a  rebellion  of  the  old  military  guard,  called  the  Strelitz,  who 
were  peculiarly  disaffected.  But  he  easily  suppressed  the  discon- 
tents, and  punished  the  old  soldiers  with  unsparing  rigor.  He  even 
executed  thirty  with  his  own  hands. 

He  then  turned  himself,  in  good  earnest,  to  the  work  of  reform. 
His  passions  were  military,  and  he  longed  to  conquer  kingdoms 
and  cities.  But  he  saw  no  probability  of  success,  unless  he  could 
first  civilize  his  subjects,  and  teach  the  soldiers  the  great  improve- 
ments in  the  art  of  war.  In  order  to  conquer,  he  resolved  first  to 
reform  his  nation.  His  desires  were  selfish,  but  happened  to  be 
directed  into  channels  which  benefited  his  country.  Like  Napo- 
leon, his  ruling  passion  was  that  of  the  aggrandizement  of  himself 
and  nation.  But  Providence  designed  that  his  passions  should  be 
made  subservient  to  the  welfare  of  his  race.  It  is  to  his  glorj- 
that  he  had  enlargement  of  mind  sufficient  to  perceive  the  true 
sources  of  national  prosperity.  To  secure  this,  therefore,  became 
the  aim  of  his  life.  He  became  a  reformer  ;  but  a  reformer,  like 
Hildebrand,  of  the  despotic  school. 

The  first  object  of  all  despots  is  the  improvement  of  the  militar}' 
force.  To  effect  this,  he  abolished  the  old  privileges  of  the 
soldiers,  disbanded  them,  and  drafted  them  into  the  new  regi- 
ments, which  he  had  organized  on  the  European  plan. 

He  found  more  difl[iculty  in  changing  the  dress  of  the  people, 
who,  generally,  wore  the  long  Asiatic  robe,  and  the  Tartar  beard ; 
and  such  was  the  opposition  made  by  the  people,  that  he  was 
obliged  to  compromise  the  matter,  and  compelled  all  who  woula 


CHAP.  XVIII.]  HIS   WAR   WITH   CHARLES   XII.  276 

wear  beards  and  robes  to  pay  a  heavy  tax,  except  priests  and  peas- 
ants ;  having  granted  the  indulgence  to  priests  on  account  of  the 
ceremonial  of  their  worship,  and  to  peasants  in  order  to  render 
their  costume  ignominious. 

His  next  important  measure  was  the  toleration  of  all  religions,  and 
all  sects,  with  the  exception  of  the  Jesuits,  whom  he  hated  and 
feared.  He  caused  the  Bible  to  be  translated  into  the  Sclavonic 
language  ;  founded  a  school  for  the  marine,  and  also  institutions 
for  the  encouragement  of  literature  and  art.  He  abolished  the  old 
and  odious  laws  of  marriage,  by  which  women  had  no  liberty  in 
the  choice  of  husbands.  He  suppressed  all  useless  monasteries ; 
taxed  the  clergy  as  well  as  the  laity  ;  humiliated  the  patriarch,  and 
assumed  many  of  his  powers.  He  improved  the  administration  of 
justice,  mitigated  laws  in  relation  to  woman,  and  raised  her  social 
rank.  He  established  post-offlces,  boards  of  trade,  a  vigorous 
police,  hospitals  and  almshouses.  He  humbled  the  nobility,  and 
abolished  many  of  their  privileges ;  for  which  the  people  honored 
him,  and  looked  upon  him  as  their  benefactor. 

Having  organized  his  army,  and  effected  social  reforms,  he 
turned  his  attention  to  war  and  national  aggrandizement. 

His  first  war  was  with  Sweden,  then  the  most  powerful  of  the 
northern  states,  and  ruled  by  Charles  XII.,  who,  at  the  age  of 
eighteen,  had  just  ascended  the  throne.  The  cause  of  the  war 
was  the  desire  of  aggrandizement  on  the  part  of  the  czar ;  the 
pretence  was,  the  restitution  of  some  lands  which  Sweden  had 
obtained  from  Denmark  and  Poland.  Taking  advantage  of  the 
defenceless  state  of  Sweden,  —  attacked,  at  that  time,  by  Denmark 
on  the  one  side,  and  by  Poland  on  the  other,  —  Peter  invaded  the 
territories  of  Charles  with  an  army  of  sixty  thousand  men,  and  laid 
siege  to  Narva.  The  Swedish  forces  were  only  twenty  thousand ; 
but  they  were  veterans,  and  they  were  headed  by  a  hero.  Not- 
withstanding the  great  disproportion  between  the  contending  parties, 
the  Russians  were  defeated,  although  attacked  in  their  intrench- 
ments,  and  all  the  artillery  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Swedes.  The 
victory  at  Narva  settled  the  fame  of  Charles,  but  intoxicated  his 
mind,  and  led  to  a  presumptuous  self-confidence  ;  while  the  defeat 
of  Peter  did  not  discourage  him,  but  braced  him  to  make  still 
greater  exertions  —  one  of  the  numerous  instances,  so  often  seen 


W6  CHARLES    XII.  [chap.  XVIII. 

in  human  life,  where  defeat  is  better  than  victory.  But  the 
czar  was  conscious  of  his  strength,  and  also  of  his  weakness. 
He  knew  he  had  unlimited  resources,  but  that  his  troops  were 
inexperienced;  and  he  made  up  his  mind  for  disasters  at  the 
beginning,  in  the  hope  of  victory  in  the  end.  "  I  know  very 
well,"  said  he,  "that  the  Swedes  will  have  the  advantage 
over  us  for  a  considerable  time ;  but  they  will  teach  us,  at 
length,  to  beat  them."  The  Swede,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
intoxicated  with  victory,  and  acquired  that  fatal  presumption 
which  finally  proved  disastrous  to  himself  and  to  his  country.  He 
despised  his  adversary ;  while  Peter,  without  overrating  his  victo- 
rious enemy,  was  led  to  put  forth  new  energies,  and  develop  the 
great  resources  of  his  nation.  He  was  sure  of  final  success  ;  and 
he  who  can  be  sustained  by  the  consciousness  of  ultimate  triumph, 
can  ever  afford  to  wait.  It  is  the  spirit  which  sustains  the  martyr. 
It  constitutes  the  distinguishing  element  of  enthusiasm  and  exalted 
heroism. 

But  Peter  not  only  made  new  military  preparations,  but  prose- 
cuted his  schemes  of  internal  improvement,  and  projected,  after 
his  unfortunate  defeat  at  Narva,  the  union,  by  a  canal,  of  the 
Baltic  and  Caspian  Seas.  About  this  time,  he  introduced  mto 
Russia  flocks  of  Saxony  sheep,  erected  linen  and  paper  manufac- 
tories, built  hospitals,  and  invited  skilful  mechanics,  of  all  trades, 
to  settle  in  his  kingdom.  But  Charles  thought  only  of  war  and 
■glory,  and  did  not  reconstruct  or  reproduce.  He  pursued  his  mil- 
itary career  by  invading  Poland,  then  ruled  by  the  Elector  of  Sax- 
ony ;  while  Peter  turned  his  attention  to  the  organization  of  new 
armies,  melting  bells  into  cannon,  constructing  fleets,  and  attending 
to  all  the  complicated  cares  of  a  mighty  nation  with  the  most 
minute  assiduity.  He  drew  plans  of  fortresses,  projected  military 
reforms,  and  inspired  his  soldiers  with  his  own  enthusiasm.  And 
his  energy  and  perseverance  were  soon  rewarded.  He  captured 
Marienburgh,  a  strong  city  on  the  confine*  of  Livonia  and  Ingria  ; 
and  among  the  captives  was  a  young  peasant  girl,  who  eventually 
became  the  Empress  Catharine,  and  to  whose  counsels  Peter  was 
much  indebted  for  his  great  success. 

She  was  the  daughter  of  a  poor  woman  of  Livonia ;  lost 
her  mother  at  the  age  of  three  years;  and,  at  that  early  age. 


CHAP.  XVIII.]  BUILDING    OF    ST.    PETERSBURG.  277 

attracted  the  notice  of  the  parish  clerk,  a  Lutheran  clergyman ; 
was  brought  up  with  his  own  daughters,  and  married  a  young  ser- 
geant of  the  army,  who  was  killed  in  the  capture  of  the  city.  She 
intero«5ted  the  Russian  general,  by  her  intense  grief  and  great 
beauty;  was  taken  into  his  family,  and,  soon  after,  won  the 
favor  of  Prince  MenzikofT,  the  prime  minister  of  the  czar; 
became  mistress  of  his  palace ;  there  beheld  Peter  himself, 
captivated  him,  and  was  married  to  him,  —  at  first  privately, 
and  afterwards  publicly.  Her  rise,  from  so  obscure  a  position, 
in  a  distant  country  town,  to  be  the  wife  of  the  absolute  monarch 
of  an  empire  of  thirty-three  millions  of  people,  is  the  most  ex- 
traordinary in  the  history  of  the  world.  When  she  enslaved  the 
czar  by  the  power  of  her  charms,  she  was  only  seventeen  years 
of  age  ;  two  years  after  the  foundations  of  St.  Petersburg  were 
laid. 

The  building  of  this  great  northern  capital  was  as  extraordinary 
as  the  other  great  acts  of  this  monarch.  Amid  the  marshes,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Neva,  a  rival  city  to  the  ancient  metropolis  of 
the  empire  arose  in  five  months.  But  one  hundred  thousand 
people  perished  during  the  first  year,  in  consequence  of  the  sever- 
ity of  their  labors,  and  the  pestilential  air  of  the  place.  The  new 
city  was  an  object  of  as  great  disgust  to  the  nobles  of  Russia  and 
the  inhabitants  of  the  older  cities,  as  it  was  the  delight  and  pride 
of  the  czar,  who  made  it  the  capital  of  his  vast  dominions.  And 
the  city  was  scarcely  built,  before  its  great  commercial  advantages 
were  appreciated ;  and  vessels  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  freighted 
with  the  various  treasures  of  its  different  kingdoms  and  coun- 
tries, appeared  in  the  harbor  of  Cronstadt. 

Charles  XII.  looked  with  contempt  on  the  Herculean  labors  of 
his  rival  to  civilize  and  enrich  his  country,  and  remarked  "  that  the 
czar  might  amuse  himself  as  he  saw  fit  in  building  a  city,  but  that 
he  should  soon  take  it  from  him,  and  set  fire  to  his  wooden  house  ;  " 
a  bombastic  boast,  which,  like  most  boasting,  came  most  signally 
to  nought. 

Indeed,  success  now  turned  in  favor  of  Peter,  whose  forces  had 
been  constantly  increasing,  while  those  of  Charles  had  been  de- 
creasing. City  after  city  fell  into  the  hands  of  Peter,  and  whole 
24 


278  NEW  WAR   WITH   SWEDEN.  [cHAP.  XVJII 

provinces  were  conquered  from  Sweden.  Soon  all  Ingria  was 
odded  to  the  empire  of  the  czar,  the  government  of  which 
was  mtrusted  to  MenzikofT,  a  man  of  extraordinary  abilities, 
raised  from  obscurity,  as  a  seller  of  pies  in  the  streets  of  Moscow, 
to  be  a  prince  of  the  empire.  His  elevation  was  a  great  mortifi- 
cation to  the  old  and  proud  nobility.  But  Peter  not  only  endeav- 
ored to  reward  and  appropriate  merit,  but  to  humble  the  old 
aristocracy,  who  were  averse  to  his  improvements.  And  Peter 
was  as  cold  and  haughty  to  them,  as  he  was  free  and  companion- 
able with  his  meanest  soldiers.  All  great  despots  are  indifferent 
to  grades  of  rank,  when  their  own  elevation  is  above  envy  or  the 
reach  of  ambition.  The  reward  of  merit  by  the  czar,  if  it  alien- 
ated the  affections  of  his  nobles,  increased  the  veneration  and 
enthusiasm  of  the  people,  who  are,  after  all,  the  great  permanent 
foundation  on  which  absolute  power  rests ;  illustrated  by  the  em- 
pire of  the  popes,  as  well  as  the  despotism  of  Napoleon. 

While  Peter  contended,  with  various  success,  with  the  armies 
of  Sweden,  he  succeeded  in  embroiling  Sweden  in  a  war  with 
Poland,  and  in  diverting  Charles  from  the  invasion  of  Russia. 
Had  Charles,  at  first,  and  perseveringly,  concentrated  all  his 
strength  in  an  invasion  of  Russia,  he  might  have  changed  the 
politics  of  Europe.  But  he  was  induced  to  invade  Poland,  and 
soon  drove  the  luxurious  and  cowardly  monarch  from  his  capital 
and  throne,  and  then  turned  towards  Russia,  to  play  the  part  of 
Alexander.  But  he  did  not  find  a  Darius  in  the  czar,  who  was 
ready  to  meet  him,  at  the  head  of  immense  armies. 

The  Russian  forces  amounted  to  one  hundred  thousand  men ; 
the  Swedish  to  eighty  thousand,  and  they  were  veterans.  Peter 
did  not  venture  to  risk  the  fate  of  his  empire,  by  a  pitched  battle, 
with  such  an  army  of  victorious  troops.  So  he  attempted  a  strata- 
gem, and  succeeded.  He  decoyed  the  Swedes  into  a  barren  and 
wasted  territory ;  and  Charles,  instead  of  marching  to  Moscow,  as 
he  ought  to  have  done,  followed  his  expected  prey  where  he  could 
get  no  provisions  for  his  men,  or  forage  for  his  horses.  Exhausted 
by  fatigue  and  famine,  his  troops  drooped  in  the  pursuit,  and  even 
suffered  themselves  to  be  diverted  into  still  more  barren  sections. 
Under  these  circumstances,  they  were  defeated  in  a  disastrous 
battle.   Charles,  struck  with  madness,  refused  to  retreat.    Disasters 


CHAP.  XVIII.]  WAR    WITH    THE    TURKS.  279 

multiplied.  The  victorious  Russians  hung  upon  his  rear.  The 
Cossacks  cut  off  his  stragglers.  The  army  of  eighty  thousand 
melted  away  to  twenty-five  thousand.  Still  the  infatuated  Swede 
dreamed  of  victory,  and  expected  to  see  the  troops  of  his  enemy 
desert.  The  winter  set  in  with  its  northern  severity,  and  reduced 
still  further  his  famished  troops.  He  lost  time  by  marches  and 
counter-marches,  without  guides,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  hostile 
population.  At  last  he  reached  Pultowa,  a  village  on  the  banks 
of  the  Vorskla.  Peter  hastened  to  meet  him,  with  an  army  of 
sixty  thousand,  and  one  of  the  bloodiest  battles  in  the  history  of 
war  was  fought.  The  Swedes  performed  miracles  of  valor.  But 
valor  could  do  nothing  against  overwhelming  strength.  A  disas- 
trous defeat  was  the  result,  and  Charles,  with  a  few  regiments, 
escaped  to  Turkey. 

Had  the  battle  of  Pultowa  been  decided  differently  ;  had  Charles 
conquered  instead  of  Peter,  or  had  Peter  lost  his  life,  the  empire 
of  Russia  would  probably  have  been  replunged  into  its  original 
barbarism,  and  the  balance  of  power,  in  Europe,  been  changed. 

But  Providence,  which  ordained  the  civilization  of  Russia,  also 
ordained  that  the  triumphant  czar  should  not  be  unduly  aggran- 
dized, and  should  himself  learn  jj^ons  of  humility.  The  Turks, 
j^  consequence  of  the  intrigues  of  Charles,  and  their  hereditary 
jealousy,  made  war  upon  Peter,  and  advanced  against  him  with 
an  army  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men.  His  own  army 
was  composed  of  only  forty  thousand.  He  was  also  indiscreet, 
and  soon  found  himself  in  the  condition  of  Charles  at  Pultowa. 
On  the  banks  of  the  Pruth,  in  Moldavia,  he  was  surrounded  by  the 
whole  Turkish  force,  and  famine  or  surrender  seemed  inevitable. 
It  was  in  this  desperate  and  deplorable  condition  that  he  was 
rescued  by  the  Czarina  Catharine,  by  whose  address  a  treaty 
was  made  with  his  victorious  enemy,  and  Peter  was  allowed 
to  retire  with  his  army.  Charles  XII.  was  indignant  beyond 
measure  with  the  Turkish  general,  for  granting  such  easy  condi- 
tions, when  he  had  the  czar  in  his  power ;  and  to  his  reproaches 
the  vizier  of  the  sultan  rephed,  "  I  have  a  right  to  make  peace  or 
war ;  and  our  law  commands  us  to  grant  peace  to  our  enemies, 
when  they  implore  our  clemency."  Charles  replied  with  an 
insult;  and,  though  a  fugitive  in  the  Turkish  camp,  he  threw 


280  PETEE   MAKES    A    SECOND   TOUR.  [cHAP.  XVIH. 

himself  on  a  sofa,  contemptuously  cast  his  eye  on  all  present, 
stretched  out  his  leg,  and  entangled  his  spur  in  the  vizier's  robe  ; 
which  insult  the  magnanimous  Turk  affected  to  consider  an  acci- 
dent. 

After  the  defeat  of  Peter  on  the  banks  of  the  Pruth,  he  devoted 
himself  with  renewed  energy  to  the  improvement  of  his  country. 
He  embellished  St.  Petersburg,  his  new  capital,  with  palaces, 
churches,  and  arsenals.  He  increased  his  army  and  navy,  strength- 
ened himself  by  new  victories,  and  became  gradually  master  of 
both  sides  of  the  Gulf  of  Finland,  by  which  his  vast  empire  was 
protected  from  invasion. 

He  now  reached  the  exalted  height  to  which  he  had  long  aspired. 
He  assumed  the  title  of  emperor^  and  his  title  was  universally 
acknowledged.  He  then  meditated  a  second  tour  of  Europe,  with 
a  view  to  study  the  political  constitutions  of  the  various  states. 
Thirteen  years  had  elapsed,  since,  as  a  young  enthusiast,  he  had 
visited  Amsterdam  and  London.  He  now  travelled,  a  second 
time,  with  the  additional  glory  of  a  great  name,  and  in  the  full 
maturity  of  his  mind.  He  visited  Hamburg,  Stockholm,  Lubec, 
Amsterdam,  and  Paris.  At  this  latter  place  he  was  much  noticed. 
Wherever  he  went,  his  courseB^as  a  triumphal  procession.  But 
he  disdained  flattery,  and  was  wearied  with  pompous  ceremonies. 
He  could  not  be  flattered  out  of  his  simplicity,  or  the  zeal  of 
acquiring  useful  knowledge.  He  visited  all  the  works  of  art,  and 
was  particularly  struck  with  the  Gobelin  tapestries  and  the  tomb 
of  Richelieu.  "  Great  man,"  said  he,  apostrophizing  his  image, 
"  I  would  give  half  of  my  kingdom  to  learn  of  thee  how  to  govern 
the  other  half."  His  residence  in  Paris  inspired  all  classes  with 
profound  respect ;  and  from  Paris  he  went  to  Berlin.  There  he 
found  sympathy  with  Frederic  William,  who  tastes  and  cha- 
racter somewhat  resembled  his  own;  and  from  him  he  learned 
many  useful  notions  in  the  art  of  government.  But  he  was  sud- 
denly recalled  from  Berlin  by  the  bad  conduct  of  his  son  Alexis, 
who  was  the  heir  to  his  throne.  He  was  tried,  condemned,  dis- 
graced, humiliated,  and  disinherited.  He  probably  would  have 
been  executed  by  his  hard  and  rigorous  father,  had  he  not  died  in 
prkon.  He  was  hostile  to  his  father's  plans  of  reform,  and  inde- 
cently expressed  a  wish  for  his  death.     The  conduct  of  Peter 


CHAP.  XVIII.]  ELEVATION    OF   CATHARINE.  281 

towards  him  is  generally  considered  harsh  and  unfeeling ;  but  it 
has  many  palliations,  if  the  good  of  his  subjects  and  the  peace  of 
the  realm  are  more  to  be  desired  than  the  life  of  an  ignominious 
prince. 

Peter  prosecuted  his  wars  and  his  reforms.  The  treaty  of 
Neustadt  secured  to  Russia,  after  twenty  years  of  unbroken  war, 
a  vast  increase  of  territory,  and  placed  her  at  the  head  of  the 
northern  powers.  The  emperor  also  enriched  his  country  by 
opening  new  branches  of  trade",  constructing  canals,  rewarding 
industry,  suppressing  gambling  and  mendicity,  introducing  iron 
and  steel  manufacture,  building  cities,  and  establishing  a  vigorous 
police. 

After  having  settled  the  finances  and  trade  of  his  empire,  sub- 
dued his  enemies  at  home  and  abroad,  and  compelled  all  the  nobles 
and  clergy  to  swear  fealty  to  the  person  whom  he  should  select 
as  his  successor,  he  appointed  his  wife,  Catharine ;  and  she  was 
solemnly  crowned  empress  in  1724,  he  himself,  at  her  inaugura- 
tion, walking  on  foot,  as  captain  of  her  guard.  He  could  not 
have  made  a  better  choice,  as  she  was,  in  all  substantial  respects, 
worthy  of  the  exalted  position  to  which  she  was  raised. 

In  about  a  year  after,  he  died,  leaving  behind  him  his  principles 
and  a  mighty  name.  Other  kings  have  been  greater  generals ; 
but  few  have  derived  from  war  greater  success.  Some  have  com- 
manded larger  armies  ;  but  he  created  those  which  he  commanded. 
Many  have  destroyed  ;  but  he  reconstructed.  He  was  a  despot, 
but  ruled  for  the  benefit  of  his  country.  He  was  disgraced  by 
violent  passions,  his  cruelty  was  sanguinary,  and  his  tastes  were 
brutal ;  but  his  passions  did  not  destroy  his  judgment,  nor  his  appe- 
tites make  him  luxurious.  He  was  incessantly  active  and  vigilant, 
his  prejudices  were  few,  and  his  views  tolerant  and  enlightened. 
He  was  only  cruel  when  his  authority  was  impeached.  His  best 
portraiture  is  in  his  acts.  He  found  a  country  semi-barbarous, 
convulsed  by  disorders,  a  prey  to  petty  tyrannies,  weak  from  dis- 
union, and  trembling  before  powerful  neighbors.  He  left  it  a  first- 
class  power,  freed  in  a  measure  from  its  barbarous  customs,  im-- 
proved  in  social  life,  in  arts,  in  science,  and,  perhaps,  in  morals. 
He  left  a  large  and  disciplined  army,  a  considerable  navy,  and 
numerous  institutions  for  the  civilization  of  the  people.  He  left 
24* 


282  EARLY   HISTORY    OF    SWEDEN.  [cHAP.  XVIII. 

more — the  moral  effect  of  a  great  example,  of  a  man  in  the  pos- 
session of  unbounded  riches  and  power,  making  great  pereonal 
sacrifices  to  improve  himself  in  the  art  of  governing  for  the  wel- 
fare of  the  millions  over  whom  he  was  called  to  rule.  These 
virtues  and  these  acts  have  justly  won  for  him  the  title  of  Peter 
the  Crreat  —  a  title  which  the  world  has  bestowed  upon  but  few  of 
the  great  heroes  of  ancient  or  modem  times. 


The  reign  of  Charles  XII.  is  intimately  connected  with  that  of 
Peter  the  Great ;  these  monarchs  being  contemporaries  and  rivals, 
both  reigning  in  northern  countries  of  great  extent  and  comparative 
barbarism.  The  reign  of  Peter  was  not  so  exclusively  military 
as  that  of  Charles,  with  whom  war  was  a  passion  and  a  profes- 
sion. The  interest  attached  to  Charles  arises  more  from  his 
eccentricities  and  brilliant  military  qualities,  than  from  any 
extraordinary  greatness  of  mind  or  heart.  He  was  barbarous 
in  his  manners,  and  savage  in  his  resentments ;  a  stranger 
to  the  pleasures  of  society,  obstinate,  revengeful,  unsympa- 
thetic, and  indifferent  to  friendship  and  hatred.  But  he  was 
brave,  temperate,  generous,  intrepid  in  danger,  and  firm  in 
misfortune. 

Before  his  singular  career  can  be  presented,  attention  must  be 
directed  to  the  country  over  which  he  reigned,  and  which  will  be 
noticed  in  connection  with  Denmark ;  these  two  countries  form- 
ing a  greater  part  of  the  ancient  Scandinavia,  from  which  our 
Teutonic  ancestors  migrated,  the  land  of  Odin,  and  Frea,  and 
Thor,  those  half-fabulous  deities,  concerning  whom  there  are  still 
divided  opinions ;  some  supposing  that  they  were  heroes,  and  oth- 
ers, impersonations  of  virtues,  or  elements  and  wonders  of  nature. 
The  mythology  of  Greece  does  not  more  fully  abound  with  gods 
and  goddesses,  than  that  of  the  old  Scandinavia  with  rude 
deities,  —  dwarfs,  and  elfs,  and  mountain  spirits.  It  was  in  these 
northern  regions  that  the  Normans  acquired  their  wild  enthusiasm, 
their  supernatural  daring,  and  their  magnificent  superstitions.  It 
was  from  these  regions  that  the  Saxons  brought  their  love  of  lib- 
erty, their  spirit  of  enterprise,  and  their  restless  passion  for  the 
sea.     The  ancient  Scandinavians  were  heroic,  adventurous,  and 


CHAP.  XVIII.]  INTRODUCTION    OF   CHRISTIANITY.  283 

chivalrous  robbers,  holding  their  women  in  great  respect,  and  pro- 
foundly reverential  in  their  notions  of  a  supreme  power.  They 
were  poor  in  silver,  in  gold,  in  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  in  luxuries, 
and  in  palaces,  but  rich  in  poetic  sentiments  and  in  religious  ideas. 
Their  chief  vices  were  those  of  gluttony  and  intemperance,  and 
their  great  pleasures  were  those  of  hunting  and  gambling. 

Fabulous  as  are  most  of  their  legends  as  to  descent,  still  Scan* 
dinavia  was  probably  peopled  with  hardy  races  before  authentic 
history  commences.  Under  different  names,  and  at  different 
times,  they  invaded  the  Roman  empire.  In  the  fifth  century, 
they  had  settled  in  its  desolated  provinces  —  the  Saxons  in  Eng- 
land, the  Goths  in  Spain  and  Italy,  the  Vandals  in  Africa,  the 
Burgundians  in  France,  and  the  Lombards  in  Italy. 

Among  the  most  celebrated  of  these  northern  Teutonic  nations 
were  the  pirates  who  invaded  England  and  France,  under  the 
name  of  Northmen.  They  came  from  Denmark,  and  some  of 
their  chieftains  won  a  great  name  in  their  generation,  such  as 
Harold,  Canute,  Sweyn,  and  Rollo. 

Christianity  was  probably  planted  in  Sweden  about  the  middle 
of  the  ninth  century.  St.  Anscar,  a  Westphalian  monk,  was  the 
first  successful  missionary,  and  he  was  made  Archbishop  of  Ham- 
burg, and  primate  of  the  north. 

The  early  history  of  the  Swedes  and  Danes  resembles  that  of 
England  under  the  Saxon  princes,  and  they  were  disgraced  by  the 
same  great  national  vices.  During  the  Middle  Ages,  no  great 
character  appeared  worthy  of  especial  notice.  Some  of  the  more 
powerful  kings,  such  as  Valdemar  I.  and  II.,  and  Canute  VI.,  had 
quarrels  with  the  Emperors  of  Germany,  and  invaded  some  prov- 
inces of  their  empire.  Some  of  these  princes  were  warriors,  some 
cruel  tyrants,  none  very  powerful,  and  all  characterized  by  the 
vices  of  their  age  —  treachery,  hypocrisy,  murder,  drunkenness, 
and  brutal  revenge. 

The  most  powerful  of  these  kings  was  Christian  I.,  who  founded 
the  dynasty  of  Oldenburgh,  and  who  united  under  his  sway  the 
kingdoms  of  Denmark,  Sweden,  and  Norway.  He  reigned  from 
1448  to  1481 ;  and  in  his  family  the  crown  of  Sweden  remained 
until  the  revolution  effected  by  Gustavus  Vasa,  in  1525,  and  by 
which  revolution  Sweden  was  made  independent  of  Denmark. 


284  GUSTAVTJS   VASA.  [CHAP.  XVIII. 

Gustavus  Vasa  was  a  nobleman  descended  from  the  ancient 
kings  of  Sweden,  and  who,  from  the  oppression  to  which  his  coun- 
try was  subjected  by  Christian  and  the  Archbishop  of  Upsal,  was 
forced  to  seek  refuge  amid  the  forests  of  Dalecarlia.  When  Stock- 
holm was  pillaged  and  her  noblest  citizens  massacred  by  the  cruel 
tyrant  of  the  country,  Gustavus  headed  an  insurrection,  defeated 
the  king's  forces,  and  was  made  king  himself  by  the  Diet. 
He,  perceiving  that  the  Catholic  clergy  were  opposed  to  the 
liberties  and  the  great  interests  of  his  country,  seized  their  for- 
tresses and  lands,  became  a  convert  to  the  doctrine  of  the  reform- 
ers, and  introduced  Lutheranism  into  the  kingdom,  which  has  ever 
since  been  the  established  religion  of  Sweden.  He  was  despotic 
in  his  government,  but  ruled  for  the  good  of  his  subjects,  and  was 
distinguished  for  many  noble  qualities. 

The  celebrated  Gustavus  Adolphus  was  his  descendant,  and  was 
more  absolute  and  powerful  than  even  Gustavus  Vasa.  But  he  is 
chiefly  memorable  as  the  great  hero  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  and 
as  the  greatest  general  of  his  age.  Under  his  sway,  Sweden  was 
the  most  powerful  of  the  northern  kingdoms. 

He  was  succeeded  by  his  daughter  Christina,  a  woman  of 
most  extraordinary  qualities  ;  a  woman  of  genius,  of  taste,  and  of 
culture ;  a  woman  who,  at  twenty-seven,  became  wearied  of  the 
world,  and  of  the  enjoyment  of  unlimited  power,  and  who  changed 
her  religion,  retired  from  her  country,  and  abdicated  her  throne, 
that  she  might,  unmolested,  enjoy  the  elegant  pleasures  of  Rome, 
and  be  solaced  by  the  literature,  religion,  and  art  of  that  splendid 
capital.  It  was  in  the  society  of  men  of  genius  that  she  spent 
most  of  her  time,  and  was  the  life  of  the  most  intellectual  circle 
which  then  existed  in  Europe. 

She  was  succeeded  by  her  cousin,  who  was  elected  King  of 
Sweden,  by  the  title  of  Charles  Gustavus  X,  and  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Charles  XL,  the  father  of  Charles  XII. 

Charles  XII.  was  fifteen  years  of  age  when  he  came  to  the 
throne,  in  the  year  1697,  and  found  his  country  strong  in  resources, 
and  his  army  the  best  disciplined  in  Europe.  His  territories  were 
one  third  larger  than  those  of  France  when  ruled  by  Louis  XIV., 
though  not  so  thickly  populated. 

The  young  monarch,  at  first,  gave  but  few  indications  of  the 


CHAP.  XVIII.]  EARLY   DAYS    OF    CHARLES   XII.  285 

remarkable  qualities  which  afterwards  distinguished  hitn.  He  was 
idle,  dissipated,  haughty,  and  luxurious.  When  he  came  to  the 
council  chamber,  he  was  absent  and  indifferent,  and  generally  sa* 
with  both  legs  thrown  across  the  table. 

But  his  lethargy  and  indifference  did  not  last  long.  Three 
great  monarchs  had  conspired  to  ruin  him,  and  dismember  his 
kingdom.  These  were  the  Czar  Peter,  Frederic  IV.  of  Denmark, 
and  Frederic  Augustus,  King  of  Poland,  and  also  Elector  of 
Saxony ;  and  their  hostile  armies  were  on  the  point  of  invading 
his  country. 

The  greatness  of  the  danger  brought  to  light  his  great  qualities. 
He  vigorously  prepared  for  war.  His  whole  character  changed. 
Quintus  Curtius  became  his  text-book,  and  Alexander  his  model. 
He  spent  no  time  in  sports  or  magnificence.  He  clothed  himself 
like  a  common  soldier,  whose  hardships  he  resolved  henceforth  to 
share.  He  forswore  the  society  and  the  influence  of  woman. 
He  relinquished  wine  and  all  the  pleasures  of  the  table.  Love  of 
glory  became  his  passion,  and  continued  through  life ;  and  this 
ever  afterwards  made  him  insensible  to  reproach,  danger,  toil, 
fear,  hunger,  and  pain.  Never  was  a  more  complete  change 
effected  in  a  man's  moral  character ;  and  never  was  an  improved 
moral  character  consecrated  to  a  worse  end.  He  was  not  devoted 
to  the  true  interests  of  his  country,  but  to  a  selfish,  base,  and  vain 
passion  for  military  fame. 

But  his  conduct,  at  first,  called  forth  universal  admiration.  His 
glorious  and  successful  defence  against  enemies  apparently  over- 
whelming gave  him  a  great  military  reputation,  and  secured  for 
him  the  sympathies  of  Christendom.  Had  he  died  when  he  had 
repelled  the  Russian,  the  Danish,  and  the  Polish  armies,  he  would 
have  secured  as  honorable  an  immortality  as  that  of  Gustavus 
Adolphus.  But  he  was  not  permitted  to  die  prematurely,  as  was 
his  great  ancestor.  He  lived  long  enough  to  become  intoxicated 
with  success,  to  make  great  political  blunders,  and  to  suffer  the 
most  fatal  and  mortifying  misfortunes. 

The  commencement  of  his  military  career  was  beautifully 
heroic.  "  Gentlemen,"  said  the  young  monarch  of  eighteen  to  his 
counsellors,  when  he  meditated  desperate  resistance,  "  I  am  re- 
solved never  to  begin  an  unjust  war,  and  never  to  finish  a  just  one, 
but  with  the  destruction  of  my  enemies." 


286  Charles's  heroism.  [chap,  xviii. 

In  sLx  weeks  he  finished,  after  he  had  begun,  the  Danish  war, 
having  completely  humbled  his  enemy,  and  succored  his  brother- 
in-law,  the  Duke  of  Holstein. 

His  conflict  with  Peter  has  been  presented,  when  with  twenty 
thousand  men  he  attacked  and  defeated  sixty  thousand  Russians 
in  their  intrenchments,  took  one  hundred  and  fifty  pieces  of  can- 
non, and  killed  eighteen  thousand  men.  The  victory  of  Narva 
astonished  all  Europe,  and  was  the  most  brilliant  which  had  then 
been  gained  in  the  annals  of  modern  warfare. 

Charles  was  equally  successful  against  Frederic  Augustus.  He 
routed  his  Saxon  troops,  and  then  resolved  to  dethrone  him,  as 
King  of  Poland.  And  he  succeeded  so  far  as  to  induce  the  Polish 
Diet  to  proclaim  the  throne  vacant.  Augustus  was  obliged  to  fly, 
and  Stanislaus  Leczinski  was  chosen  king  in  his  stead,  at  the 
nomination  of  the  Swedish  conqueror.  The  country  was  sub- 
jugated, and  Frederic  Augustus  became  a  fugitive. 

But  Charles  was  not  satisfied  with  expelling  him  from  Poland. 
He  resolved  to  attack  him  also  in  Saxony  itself.  Saxony  was  then, 
next  to  Austria,  the  most  powerful  of  the  German  states.  Never- 
theless, Saxony  could  not  arrest  the  victorious  career  of  Charles. 
The  Saxons  fled  as  he  approached.  He  penetrated  to  the  heart  of 
the  electorate,  and  the  unfortunate  Frederic  Augustus  was  obliged 
to  sue  for  peace,  which  was  only  granted  on  the  most  humiliating 
terms ;  which  were,  that  the  elector  should  acknowledge  Stanislaus 
as  king  of  Poland ;  that  he  should  break  all  his  treaties  with 
Russia,  and  should  deliver  to  the  King  of  Sweden  all  the  men  who 
had  deserted  from  his  army.  The  humbled  elector  sought  a 
personal  interview  with  Charles,  after  he  had  signed  the  conditions 
of  peace,  with  the  hope  of  securing  better  terms.  He  found 
Charles  in  his  jack  boots,  with  a  piece  of  black  taffeta  round  his 
neck  for  a  cravat,  and  clothed  in  a  coarse  blue  coat  with  brass 
buttons.  His  conversation  turned  wholly  on  his  jack  boots ;  and 
this  trifling  subject  was  the  only  one  on  which  he  would  deign  to 
converse  with  one  of  the  most  accomplished  monarchs  of  his  age. 

Charles  had  now  humbled  and  defeated  all  his  enemies.  He 
should  now  have  returned  to  Sweden,  and  have  cultivated  the  arts 
of  peace.  But  peace  and  civilization  were  far  from  his  thoughts. 
The  subjugation  of  all  the  northern  powers  became  the  dream  of 


CHAP.  XVIII.]  HIS   MISFORTUNES.  287 

his  life.  He  invaded  Russia,  resolved  on  driving  Peter  from  his 
throne. 

He  was  eminently  successful  in  defensive  war,  and  eminently- 
unsuccessful  in  aggressive  war.  Providence  benevolently  but 
singularly  comes  to  the  aid  of  all  his  children  in  distress  and 
despair.  Men  are  gloriously  strong  in  defending  their  rights ;  but 
weak,  in  all  their  strength,  when  they  assail  the  rights  of  others. 
So  signal  is  this  fact,  that  it  blazes  upon  all  the  pages  of  history, 
and  is  illustrated  in  common  life  as  well  as  in  the  affairs  of 
nations. 

When  Charles  turned  as  an  assailant  of  the  rights  of  his 
enemies,  his  unfortunate  reverses  commenced.  At  the  head  of 
forty-three  thousand  veterans,  loaded  with  the  spoils  of  Poland  and 
Saxony,  he  commenced  his  march  towards  Russia.  He  had 
another  army  in  Poland  of  twenty  thousand,  and  another  in  Fin- 
land of  fifteen  thousand.  With  these  he  expected  to  dethrone  the 
czar. 

His  mistakes  and  infatuation  have  been  noticed,  and  his  final 
defeat  at  Pultowa,  a  village  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  Ukraine. 
This  battle  was  more  decisive  than  that  of  Narva ;  for  in  the  latter 
the  career  of  Peter  was  only  arrested,  but  in  the  former  the 
strength  of  Charles  was  annihilated.  And  so  would  have  been  his 
hopes,  had  he  been  an  ordinary  man.  But  he  was  a  madman, 
and  still  dreamed  of  victory,  with  only  eighteen  hundred  men  to 
follow  his  fortunes  into  Turkey,  which  country  he  succeeded  in 
reaching. 

His  conduct  in  Turkey  was  infamous  and  extraordinary.  No 
reasonings  can  explain  it.  It  was  both  ridiculous  and  provoking. 
At  first,  he  employed  himself  in  fomenting  quarrels,  and  devising 
schemes  to  embark  the  sultan  in  his  cause.  Vizier  after  vizier 
was  flattered  and  assailed.  He  rejected  every  overture  for  his 
peaceable  return.  He  lingered  five  years  in  endless  intrigues  and 
negotiations,  in  order  to  realize  the  great  dream  of  his  life  —  the 
dethronement  of  the  czar.  He  lived  recklessly  on  the  bounty  of 
the  sultan,  taking  no  hints  that  even  imperial  hospitality  might  be 
abused  and  exhausted.  At  last,  his  inflexible  obstinacy  and  dan- 
gerous intrigues  so  disgusted  his  generous  host,  that  he  was  urged 
to  return,  with  the  offer  of  a  suitable  escort,  and  a  large  sum  of 


288  CHAELES'S    RETURN    TO    SWEDEN.  [cHAP.  XVIII. 

money.  He  accepted  and  spent  the  twelve  hundred  purses,  and 
still  refused  to  return.  The  displeasure  of  the  Sultan  Achmet  was 
now  fairly  excited.  It  was  resolved  upon  by  the  Porte  that  he 
should  be  removed  by  force,  since  he  would  not  be  persuaded. 
But  Charles  resisted  the  troops  of  the  sultan  who  were  ordered  to 
remove  him.  With  sixty  servants  he  desperately  defended  him- 
self against  an  army  of  janizaries,  and  killed  twenty  of  them  with 
his  own  hand ;  and  it  was  not  until  completely  overwhelmed  and 
prostrated  that  he  hurled  his  sword  into  the  air.  He  was  now  a 
prisoner  of  war,  and  not  a  guest ;  but  still  he  was  treated  with  the 
courtesy  and  dignity  due  to  a  king,  and  conducted  in  a  chariot 
covered  with  gold  and  scarlet  to  Adrianople.  From  thence  he 
was  removed  to  Demotica,  where  he  renewed  his  intrigues,  and 
zealously  kept  his  bed,  under  pretence  of  sickness,  for  ten  months. 

While  he  remained  in  captivity,  Frederic  Augustus  recovered 
the  crown  of  Poland,  King  Stanislaus  was  taken  by  the  Turks,  and 
Peter  continued  his  conquest  of  Ingria,  Livonia,  and  Finland, 
provinces  belonging  to  Sweden.  The  King  of  Prussia  also  in- 
vaded Pomerania,  and  Frederic  IV.  of  Denmark  claimed  Bremen, 
Holstein,  and  Scania.  The  Swedes  were  divested  of  all  their 
conquests,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  of  them  became 
prisoners  in  foreign  lands. 

Such  were  the  reverses  of  a  man  who  had  resolved  to  play 
the  part  of  Alexander,  but  who,  so  long  as  he  contented  himself 
with  defending  his  country  against  superior  forces,  was  successful, 
and  won  a  fame  so  great,  that  his  misfortunes  could  never  reduce 
him  to  contempt. 

When  all  was  lost,  he  signified  to  the  Turkish  vizier  his  desire 
to  return  to  Sweden.  The  vizier  neglected  no  means  to  rid  his 
master  of  so  troublesome  a  person.  Charles  returned  to  his  coun- 
try impoverished,  but  not  discouraged.  The  charm  of  his  name 
was  broken.  His  soldiers  were  as  brave  and  devoted  as  ever,  but 
his  resources  were  exhausted.  He  succeeded,  however,  in  raising 
thirty- five  thousand  men,  in  order  to  continue  his  desperate  game 
of  conquest,  not  of  defence.  Europe  beheld  the  extraordinary 
spectacle  of  this  infatuated  hero  passing,  in  the  depth  of  a  northern 
winter,  over  the  frozen  hills  and  ice-bound  rocks  of  Norway,  with 
his  devoted  army,  in  order  to  conquer  that  hyperborean  region. 


CHAP.  XVIII.]  HIS   DEATH.  289 

3o  inured  was  he  to  cold  and  fatigue,  that  he  slept  in  tne  open  air, 
on  a  bed  of  straw,  covered  only  with  his  cloak,  while  his  soldiers 
dropped  down  dead  at  their  posts  from  cold.  In  the  month  of 
December,  1718,  he  commenced  the  siege  of  Fredericshall,  a 
place  of  great  strength  and  importance,  but,  having  exposed  him- 
self unnecessarily,  was  killed  by  a  ball  from  the  fortress.  Many, 
however,  suppose  that  he  was  assassinated  by  his  own  officers, 
who  were  wearied  with  endless  war,  from  which  they  saw  nothing 
but  disaster  to  their  exhausted  country. 

His  death  was  considered  as  a  signal  for  the  general  cessation 
of  arms ;  but  Sweden  never  recovered  from  the  mad  enterprises 
of  Charles  XII.  It  has  never  since  been  a  first  class  power.  The 
national  finances  were  disordered,  the  population  decimated,  and 
the  provinces  dismembered.  Peter  the  Great  gained  what  his 
rival  lost.  We  cannot  but  compassionate  a  nation  that  has  the 
misfortune  to  be  ruled  by  such  an  absolute  and  infatuated  monarch 
as  was  Charles  XII.  He  did  nothing  for  the  civilization  of  his 
subjects,  or  to  ameliorate  the  evils  he  caused.  He  was,  like 
Alaric  or  Attila,  a  scourge  of  the  Almighty,  sent  on  earth  for  some 
mysterious  purpose,  to  desolate  and  to  destroy.  But  he  died  un- 
lamented  and  unhonored.  No  great  warrior  in  modern  times  has 
received  so  little  sympathy  from  historians,  since  he  was  not 
exalted  by  any  great  moral  qualities  of  affection  or  generosit}^ 
and  unscrupulously  sacrificed  both  friends  and  enemies  to  gratify 
a  selfish  and  a  depraved  passion. 


References.  — Voltaire's  History  of  Russia,  a  very  attractive  book,  on 
account  of  its  lively  style.  Voltaire's  Life  of  Charles  XII.,  also,  is 
equally  fascinating.  There  are  tolerable  histories  of  both  Russia  and 
Sweden  in  Lardner's  Cabinet  Cyclopedia ;  also  in  the  Family  Library. 
See,  also,  a  History  of  Russia  and  Sweden  in  the  Universal  History. 
Russell's  Modem  Europe. 

25  U 


990  ACCSSSION   OF   GEORGE   I.  [ciUF.  XIX. 


CHAPTER     XIX. 

GEORGE    I.,  AND    THE  ADMINISTRATION    OF    SIR   ROBERT 
WALPOLE. 

Queen  Anne  died  in  1714,  soon  after  the  famous  treaty  of 
Utrecht  was  made,  and  by  which  the  war  of  the  Spanish  Succes- 
sion was  closed.  She  was  succeeded  by  George  I.,  Elector  of 
Hanover.  He  was  grandson  of  Elizabeth,  only  daughter  of  James 
I.,  who  had  married  Frederic,  the  King  of  Bohemia.  He  was 
fifty-four  years  of  age  when  he  ascended  the  English  throne,  and 
imperfectly  understood  the  language  of  the  nation  whom  he  was 
called  upon  to  govern. 

George  I.  was  not  a  sovereign  who  materially  affected  the  in- 
terests or  destiny  of  England  ;  nor  was  he  one  of  those  interesting 
characters  that  historians  love  to  delineate.  It  is  generally  admit- 
ted that  he  was  respectable,  prudent,  judicious,  and  moral ;  amiable 
in  his  temper,  sincere  in  his  intercourse,  and  simple  in  his  habits, — 
qualities  which  command  respect,  but  not  those  which  dazzle  the 
people.  It  is  supposed  that  he  tolerably  understood  the  English 
Constitution,  and  was  willing  to  be  fettered  by  the  restraints  which 
the  parliaments  imposed.  He  supported  the  Whigs,  —  the  domi- 
nant party  of  the  time,  —  and  sympathized  with  liberal  principles, 
so  far  as  a  monarch  can  be  supposed  to  advance  the  interests  of 
the  people,  and  the  power  of  a  class  ever  hostile  to  the  prerogatives 
of  royalty.  He  acquiesced  in  the  rule  of  his  ministers — just 
what  was  expected  of  him,  and  just  what  was  wanted  of  him ; 
and  became  —  what  every  King  of  England,  when  popular,  has 
since  been  —  the  gilded  puppet  of  a  powerful  aristocracy.  His 
social  and  constitutional  influence  was  not,  indeed,  annihilated ;  he 
had  the  choice  of  ministers,  and  collected  around  his  throne  the 
great  and  proud,  who  looked  to  him  as  the  fountain  of  all  honor 
and  dignity.  But,  still,  from  the  accession  of  the  house  of  Han- 
over, the  political  history  of  England  is  a  history  of  the  acts  of 
j»arliaments,  and  of  those  ministei*s  who  represented  the  dominant 


CHAP.  XIX.]  SIR    ROBERT    WALPOLE.  291 

parties  of  the  nation.  Few  nobles  were  as  great  as  some  under 
the  Tudor  and  Stuart  princes ;  but  the  power  of  the  aristocracy, 
as  a  class,  was  increased.  From  the  time  of  George  I.  to  Queen 
Victoria,  the  ascendency  of  the  parKaments  has  been  most  marked  ; 
composed  chiefly  of  nobles,  great  landed  proprietors,  and  gigantic 
commercial  monopolists.  The  people  have  not  been,  indeed, 
unheard  or  unrepresented ;  but,  literally  speaking,  have  had  but  a 
feeble  influence,  compared  with  the  aristocracy.  Parliaments  and 
ministers,  therefore,  may  be  not  unjustly  said  to  be  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  aristocracy  —  of  the  wise,  the  mighty,  and  the 
noble. 

When  power  passes  from  kings  to  nobles,  then  the  acts  of  nobles 
constitute  the  genius  of  political  history,  as  fully  as  the  acts  of 
kings  constitute  history  when  kings  are  absolute,  and  the  acts  of 
the  people  constitute  history  where  the  people  are  all-powerful. 

A  notice,  therefore,  of  that  great  minister  who  headed  the  Whig 
party  of  aristocrats,  and  who,  as  their  organ,  swayed  the  councils 
of  England  for  nearly  forty  years,  demands  our  attention.  His 
political  career  commenced  during  the  reign  of  Anne,  and  con- 
tinued during  the  reign  of  George  I.,  and  part  of  the  reign  of 
George  II.  George  L,  as  a  man  or  as  a  king,  dwindled  into  insig- 
nificarice,  when  compared  with  his  prime  minister.  Sir  Robert 
Walpole.  And  he  is  great,  chiefly,  as  the  representative  of  the 
Whigs ;  that  is,  of  the  dominant  party  of  rich  and  great  men  who 
sat  in  parliament ;  a  party  of  politicians  who  professed  more  lib- 
eral principles  than  the  Tories,  but  who  were  equally  aristocratic 
in  the  social  sympathies,  and  powerful  from  aristocratic  connec- 
tions. What  did  the  great  Dukes  of  Devonshire  or  Bedford  care 
for  the  poor  people,  who,  politically,  composed  no  part  of  the 
nation  ?  But  they  were  Whigs,  and  King  George  himself  was  a 
Whig. 

Sir  Robert  belonged  to  an  ancient,  wealthy,  and  honorable 
family ;  was  bom  1676,  and  received  his  first  degree  at  King's 
College,  Cambridge,  in  1700.  He  entered  parliament  almost 
immediately  after,  became  an  active  member,  sat  on  several  com- 
mittees, and  soon  distinguished  himself  for  his  industry  and  ability. 
He  was  not  eloquent,  but  acquired  considerable  skill  as  a  debater. 
In  1705,  Lord  Godolphin,  the  prime  minister  of  Anne,  made  him 


892  THE   PRETENDER.  [cHAP.  XIX. 

one  of  the  council  to  Prince  George  of  Denmark ;  in  1706,  Marl- 
borough selected  him  as  secretary  of  war ;  in  1709,  he  was  made 
treasurer  of  the  navy ;  and  in  1710,  he  was  the  acknowledged 
leader  of  the  House  of  Commons.  He  lost  office,  however,  when 
the  Whigs  lost  power,  in  1710 ;  was  subjected  to  cruel  political 
persecution,  and  even  impeached,  and  imprisoned  in  the  Tower. 
This  period  is  memorable  for  the  intense  bitterness  and  severe 
conflicts  between  the  Whigs  and  Tories ;  not  so  much  on  account 
of  difference  of  opinion  on  great  political  principles,  as  the  struggle 
for  the  possession  of  place  and  power. 

On  the  accession  of  George  I.,  Walpole  became  paymaster  of 
the  forces,  one  of  the  most  lucrative  offices  in  the  kingdom.  Town- 
shend  was  made  secretary  of  state.  The  other  great  official  dignita- 
ries were  the  Lords  Cowper,  Marlborough,  Wharton,  Sunderland, 
Devonshire,  Oxford,  and  Somerset ;  but  Townshend  and  Walpole 
were  the  most  influential.  They  impeached  their  great  political 
enemies,  Ormond  and  Bolingbroke,  the  most  distinguished  leaders 
of  the  Tory  party.  Bolingbroke,  in  genius  and  learning,  had  no 
equal  in  parliament,  and  was  a  rival  of  Walpole  at  Eton. 

The  first  event  of  importance,  under  the  new  ministry,  was  the 
invasion  of  Great  Britain  by  the  Pretender  —  the  Prince  James 
Frederic  Edward  Stuart,  only  son  of  James  II.  His  early  days 
were  spent  at  St.  Germain's,  the  palace  which  the  dethroned  mon- 
arch enjoyed  by  the  hospitality  of  Louis  XIV.  He  was  educated 
under  influences  entirely  unfavorable  to  the  recovery  of  his  natural 
inheritance,  and  was  a  devotee  to  the  pope  and  the  interests  of 
absolutism.  But  he  had  his  adherents,  who  were  called  Jacobites^ 
and  who  were  chiefly  to  be  found  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland. 
In  1705,  an  unsuccessful  effort  had  been  made  to  regain  the  throne 
of  his  father,  but  the  disasters  attending  it  prevented  him  from 
making  any  renewed  effort  until  the  death  of  Anne. 

When  she  died,  many  discontented  Tories  fanned  the  spirit  of 
rebellion  ;  and  Bishop  Atterbury,  a  distinguished  divine,  advocated 
the  claims  of  the  Pretender.  Scotland  was  ripe  for  revolt.  Alarm- 
ing riots  took  place  in  England.  William  III.  was  burned  in  effigy 
at  Smithfield.  The  Oxford  students  pulled  down  a  Presbyterian 
meeting-house,  and  the  sprig  of  oak  was  publicly  displayed  on  the 
29th  of  May.     The  Earl  of  Mar  hurried  into  Scotland  to  fan  the 


CHAP.  XIX.]  INVASION    OF    SCOTLAND.  293 

spirit  of  insurrection;  while  the  gifted,  brilliant,  and  banished 
Bolingbroke  joined  the  standard  of  the  chevalier.  The  venerable 
and  popular  Duke  of  Ormond  also  assisted  him  with  his  counsels. 

Advised  by  these  great  nobles,  assisted  by  the  King  of  France, 
and  flattered  by  the  Jacobite  faction,  the  Pretender  made  prepara- 
tions to  recover  his  rights.  His  prospects  were  apparently  better 
than  were  those  of  William,  when  he  landed  in  England.  The 
Earl  of  Mar  was  at  the  head  of  ten  thousand  men ;  but  the  chev- 
alier was  no  general,  and  was  unequal  to  his  circumstances.  When 
he  landed  in  Scotland,  he  surrendered  himself  to  melancholy  and 
inaction.  His  sadness  and  pusillanimity  dispirited  his  devoted  band 
of  followers.  He  retreated  before  inferior  forces,  and  finally  fled 
from  the  country  which  he  had  invaded.  The  French  king  was 
obliged  to  desert  his  cause,  and  the  Pretender  retreated  to  Italy, 
and  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  seventy-nine,  after  witnessing  the 
defeat  of  his  son,  Charles  Edward,  whose  romantic  career  and 
misfortunes  cannot  now  be  mentioned.  By  the  flight  of  the  Pre- 
tender from  Scotland,  in  1715,  the  insurrection  was  easily  sup- 
pressed, and  the  country  was  not  molested  by  the  intrigues  of  the 
Stuart  pYinces  for  thirty  years. 

The  year  which  followed  the  invasion  of  Scotland  was  signalized 
by  the  passage  of  a  great  bill  in  parliament,  which  is  one  of  the 
most  important  events  in  parliamentary  history.  In  1716,  the 
famous  Septennial  Act,  which  prolonged  parliament  from  three  to 
seven  years,  was  passed.  So  many  evils,  practically,  resulted 
from  frequent  elections,  that  the  Whigs  resolved  to  make  a  change  ; 
and  the  change  contributed  greatly  to  the  tranquillity  of  the  coun- 
try, and  the  establishment  of  the  House  of  Brunswick.  The 
duration  of  the  English  parliament  has  ever  since,  constitutionally, 
been  extended  to  seven  years,  but  the  average  duration  of  parlia- 
ments has  been  six  years  —  the  term  of  office  of  the  senators  of 
the  United  States. 

After  the  passage  of  the  Septennial  Act,  the  efforts  of  Walpole 
were  directed  to  a  reduction  of  the  national  debt.  He  was  then 
secretary  of  the  treasury.  But  before  he  could  complete  his 
financial  reforms,  he  was  driven  from  office  by  the  cabals  of  his 
colleagues,  and  the  influence  of  the  king's  German  favorites  and 
mistresses.  The  Earl  of  Sunderland,  who  had  married  a  daughter 
25* 


2W  THE    SOUTH    SEA    BUBBLE.  [cHAP.  XIX. 

of  the  Duke  of  Marlborough,  was  at  the  head  of  the  cabal  party, 
and  was  much  endeared  to  the  Whigs  by  his  steady  attachment  to 
their  principles.  He  had  expected,  and  probably  deserved,  to  be 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  administration.  When  disappointed,  he 
bent  all  his  energies  to  undermine  Townsend  and  Walpole,  and 
succeeded  for  a  while.  But  Walpole's  opposition  to  the  new 
administration  was  so  powerful,  that  it  did  not  last  long.  Sunder- 
land had  persuaded  the  king  to  renounce  his  constitutional  prerog- 
ative of  creating  peers ;  and  a  bill,  called  the  Peerage  Bill,  was 
proposed,  which  limited  the  House  of  Lords  to  its  actual  existing 
number,  the  tendency  of  which  was  to  increase  the  power  and 
rank  of  the  existing  peers,  and  to  raise  an  eternal  bar  to  the 
aspirations  of  all  commoners  to  the  peerage,  and  thus  widen  the 
gulf  between  the  aristocracy  and  the  people.  Walpole  pre- 
sented these  consequences  so  forcibly,  and  showed  so  clearly 
that  the  proposed  bill  would  diminish  the  consequence  of  the 
landed  gentry,  and  prove  a  grave  to  honorable  merit,  that  the 
Commons  were  alarmed,  and  rejected  the  bill  by  a  large  and 
triumphant  majority  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-nine  to  one  hundred 
and  seventy-seven. 

The  defeat  of  this  bill,  and  the  great  financial  embarrassments 
of  the  country,  led  to  the  restoration  of  Walpole  to  office.  His 
genius  was  eminently  financial,  and  his  talents  were  precisely 
those  which  have  ever  since  been  required  of  a  minister — those 
which  characterized  Sir  Robert  Peel  and  William  Pitt.  The  great 
problem  of  any  government  is,  how  to  raise  money  for  its  great 
necessities ;  and  the  more  complicated  the  relations  of  society  are, 
the  more  difficult  becomes  the  problem. 

At  that  period,  the  English  nation  were  intoxicated  and  led 
astray  by  one  of  those  great  commercial  delusions  which  so  often 
take  place  in  all  civilized  countries.  No  mania  ever  was  moi*e 
marked,  more  universal,  and  more  fatal  than  that  of  the  South  Sea 
Company.  The  bubble  had  turned  the  heads  of  politicians,  mer- 
chants, and  farmers  ;  all  classes,  who  had  money  to  invest,  took 
stock  in  the  South  Sea  Company.  The  delusion,  however,  passed 
away ;  England  was  left  on  the  brink  of  bankruptcy,  and  a  master 
financier  was  demanded  by  the  nation,  to  extricate  it  from  the  effects 
of  folly  and  madness.     All  eyes  looked  to  Sh*  Robert  Walpole,  and 


CHAP.  XIX.]  THE  SOUTH    SEA   COMPANY.  295 

he  did  all  that  financial  skill  could  do,  to  repair  the  evils  which 
speculation  and  gambling  had  caused. 

The  desire  for  sudden  wealth  is  one  of  the  most  common 
passions  of  our  nature,  and  has  given  rise  to  more  delusions 
than  religious  fanaticism,  or  passion  for  military  glory.  The 
South  Sea  bubble  was  kindred  to  that  of  John  Law,  who  was  the 
author  of  the  Mississippi  Scheme,  which  nearly  ruined  France  in 
the  reign  of  Louis  XV.,  and  which  was  encouraged  by  the  Duke 
of  Orleans,  as  a  means  of  paying  off  the  national  debt. 

The  wars  of  England  had  created  a  national  debt,  under  the 
administration  of  Godolphin  and  Marlborough  ;  but  which  was  not  so 
large  but  that  hopes  were  entertained  of  redeeming  it.  Walpole 
proposed  to  pay  it  off  by  a  sinking  fund ;  but  this  idea,  not  very 
popular,  was  abandoned.  It  was  then  the  custom  for  government 
to  borrow  of  corporations,  rather  than  of  bankers,  because  the 
science  of  brokerage  was  not  then  understood,  and  because  no 
individuals  were  sufficiently  rich  to  aid  materially  an  embarrassed 
administration.  As  a  remuneration,  companies  were  indulged  with 
certain  commercial  advantages.  As  these  advantages  enabled 
companies  to  become  rich,  the  nation  always  found  it  easy  to  bor- 
row. During  the  war  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  the  prime  min- 
ister, Harley,  afterwards  Earl  of  Oxford,  in  order  to  raise  money, 
projected  the  South  Sea  Company.  This  was  in  1710,  and  the 
public  debt  was  ten  million  pounds  sterling,  thought  at  that  time  to 
be  insupportable.  The  interest  on  that  debt  was  six  per  cent.  In 
order  to  liquidate  the  debt,  Oxford  made  the  duties  on  wines,  to- 
bacco, India  goods,  silks,  and  a  few  other  articles,  permanent. 
And,  to  allure  the  public  creditor,  great  advantages  were  given  to 
the  new  company,  and  money  was  borrowed  of  it  at  five  per  cent. 
This  gain  of  one  per  cent.,  by  money  borrowed  from  the  com- 
pany, was  to  constitute  a  sinking  fund  to  pay  the  debt. 

But  the  necessities  of  the  nation  increased  so  rapidly,  that  a 
leading  politician  of  the  day.  Sir  John  Blount,  proposed  that  the 
South  Sea  Company  should  become  the  sole  national  creditor,  and 
should  loan  to  the  government  new  sums,  at  an  interest  of  four  per 
cent.  New  monopolies  were  to  be  given  to  the  company ;  and  it, 
on  the  other  hand,  offered  to  give  a  bonus  of  three  million  pounds 
to  the  government.     The  Bank  of  England,  jealous  of  the  propo- 


296  OPPOSITION    OF   WALPOLE.  [cHAP.  XIX. 

sal,  offered  five  millions.  The  directors  of  the  company  then  bid 
seven  millions  for  a  charter,  nearly  enough  to  pay  off  the  whole 
redeemable  debt  of  the  nation ;  which,  however,  could  not  be 
i*edeemed,  so  long  as  there  were,  in  addition,  irredeemable  annui- 
ties to  tlie  amount  of  eight  hundred  thousand  pounds  yearly.  It 
became,  therefore,  an  object  of  the  government  to  get  rid,  in  the  first 
place,  of  these  irredeemable  annuities ;  and  this  could  be  effected, 
if  the  national  creditor  could  be  induced  to  accept  of  shares  in  the 
South  Sea  Company,  instead  of  his  irredeemable  annuities,  or,  as 
they  are  now  variously  called,  consols,  stocks,  and  national  funds. 
The  capital  was  not  desired  ;  only  the  interest  on  capital.  So  many 
monopolies  and  advantages  were  granted  to  the  company,  that  the 
stock  rose,  and  the  national  creditor  was  willing  to  part  with  his 
annuities  for  stock  in  the  company.  The  offer  was,  therefore,  ac- 
cepted, and  the  government  got  rid  of  irredeemable  annuities,  and 
obtained  seven  millions  besides,  but  became  debtor  to  the  company. 
A  company  which  could  apparently  afford  to  pay  so  large  a  bonus 
to  government  for  its  charter,  and  loan  such  large  sums  as  the 
nation  needed,  in  addition,  at  four  per  cent.,  was  supposed  to  be 
making  most  enormous  profits.  Its  stock  rose  rapidly  in  value. 
The  national  creditor  hastened  to  get  rid  of  irredeemable  annui- 
ties —  a  national  stock  which  paid  five  per  cent.  —  in  order  to  buy 
shares  which  might  pay  ten  per  cent. 

Walpole,  then  paymaster  of  the  forces,  opposed  the  scheme  of 
Blount  with  all  his  might,  showed  that  the  acceptance  of  the 
company's  proposal  would  countenance  stockjobbing,  would  di- 
vert industry  from  its  customary  channels,  and  would  hold  out  a 
dangerous  lure  to  the  unsuspecting  to  part  with  real  for  imaginary 
property.  He  showed  the  misery  and  confusion  which  existed  in 
France  from  the  adoption  of  similar  measures,  and  proved  that 
the  whole  success  of  the  scheme  must  depend  on  the  rise  of  the 
company's  stock ;  that,  if  there  were  no  rise,  the  company  could 
not  afford  the  bonus,  and  would  fail,  and  the  obligation  of  the  na- 
tion remain  as  before.  But  his  reasonings  were  of  no  avail.  All 
cl£isses  were  infatuated.  All  people  speculated  in  the  South  Sea 
stock.  And,  for  a  while,  all  people  rejoiced ;  for,  as  long  as  the 
stock  continued  to  rise,  all  people  were  gainers. 

And  the  stock  rose  rapidly.     It  soon  reached  three  hundred  per 


CHAP.  XIX.]  MANIA   FOR    SPECULATION.  S97 

cent,  above  the  original  par  value,  and  this  in  consequence  of  the 
promise  of  great  dividends.  All  hastened  to  buy  such  lucrative 
property.  The  public  creditor  willingly  gave  up  three  hundred 
pounds  of  irredeemable  stock  for  one  hundred  pounds  of  the  com- 
pany's stock. 

And  this  would  have  been  well,  had  there  been  a  moral  cer- 
tainty of  the  stockholder  receiving  a  dividend  of  twenty  per  cent. 
But  there  was  not  this  certainty,  nor  even  a  chance  of  it.  Still, 
in  consequence  of  the  great  dividends  promised,  even  as  high  as 
fifty  per  cent.,  the  stock  gradually  rose  to  one  thousand  per  cent. 
Such  was  the  general  mania.  And  such  was  the  extent  of  it,  that 
thirty-seven  millions  of  pounds  sterling  were  subscribed  on  the 
company's  books. 

And  the  rage  for  speculation  extended  to  all  other  kinds  of 
property ;  and  all  sorts  of  companies  were  formed,  some  of  the 
shares  of  which  were  at  a  premium  of  two  thousand  per  cent. 
There  were  companies  formed  for  fisheries,  companies  for  making 
salt,  for  making  oil,  for  smelting  metals,  for  improving  the  breed 
of  horses,  for  the  planting  of  madder,  for  building  ships  against 
pirates,  for  the  importation  of  jackasses,  for  fattening  hogs,  for 
wheels  of  perpetual  motion,  for  insuring  masters  against  losses 
from  servants.  There  was  one  company  for  carrying  on  an 
undertaking  of  great  advantage,  but  no  one  knew  for  what.  The 
subscriber,  by  paying  two  guineas  as  a  deposit,  was  to  have  one 
hundred  pounds  per  annum  for  every  hundred  subsciibed.  It 
was  declared,  that,  in  a  month,  the  particulars  were  to  be  laid 
open,  and  the  remainder  of  the  subscription  money  was  then  to 
be  paid.  Notwithstanding  this  barefaced,  swindling  scheme,  two 
thousand  pounds  were  received  one  morning  as  a  deposit.  The 
next  day,  the  proprietor  was  not  to  be  found. 

Now,  in  order  to  stop  these  absurd  speculations,  and  yet  to  mo- 
nopolize all  the  gambling  in  the  kingdom,  the  directors  of  the 
South  Sea  Company  obtained  an  act  from  parliament,  empowering 
them  to  prosecute  all  the  various  bubble  companies  that  were  pro- 
jected. In  a  few  days,  all  these  bubbles  burst.  None  were 
found  to  be  buyers.     Stock  fell  to  nothing. 

But  the  South  Sea  Company  made  a  blunder.  The  moral  effect 
of  the  bursting  of  so  many  bubbles  was  to  open  the  eyes  of  the 


29B  BURSTING    OF    THE    SOUTH    SEA    BUBBLE.       [cHAP.  UX. 

nation  to  the  greatest  bubble  of  all.  The  credit  of  the  South  Sea 
Company  declined.  Stocks  fell  from  one  thousand  per  cent,  to 
two  hundred  in  a  few  days.  All  wanted  to  sell,  nobody  to  buy. 
Bankers  and  merchants  failed,  and  nobles  and  country  gentlemen 
became  impoverished. 

In  this  general  distress,  Walpole  was  summoned  to  power,  in 
order  to  extricate  the  nation,  on  the  eve  of  bankruptcy.  He 
proposed  a  plan,  which  was  adopted,  and  which  saved  the  credit 
of  the  nation.  He  ingrafted  nine  millions  of  the  South  Sea  stock 
into  the  Bank  of  England,  and  nine  millions  more  into  the  East 
India  Company ;  and  government  gave  up  the  seven  millions  of 
bonus  which  the  company  had  promised. 

By  this  assistance,  the  company  was  able  to  fulfil  its  engage- 
ments, although  all  who  purchased  stock  when  it  had  arisen  be- 
yond one  hundred  per  cent,  of  its  original  value,  lost  money.  It 
is  strange  that  the  stock,  after  all,  remained  at  a  premium  of  one 
hundred  per  cent. ;  of  course,  the  original  proprietors  gained  one 
hundred  per  cent.,  and  those  who  paid  one  hundred  per  cent,  pre- 
mium lost  nothing.  But  these  constituted  a  small  fraction  of  the 
people  who  had  speculated,  and  who  paid  from  one  hundred  to 
nine  hundred  per  cent,  premium.  Government,  too,  gained  by 
reducing  interest  on  irredeemable  bonds  from  five  to  four  percent., 
although  it  lost  <he  promised  bonus  of  seven  millions. 

The  South  Sea  bubble  did  not  destroy  the  rage  for  speculation, 
although  it  taught  many  useful  truths  —  that  national  prosperity  is 
not  advanced  by  stockjobbing;  that  financiers,  however  great 
their  genius,  generally  overreach  themselves ;  that  great  dividends 
are  connected  with  great  risk ;  that  circumstances  beyond 
human  control  will  defeat  the  best-laid  plan ;  that  it  is  better 
to  repose  upon  the  operation  of  the  ordinary  laws  of  trade ;  and 
that  nothing  but  strict  integrity  and  industry  will  succeed  in  the 
end.  From  the  time  of  Su*  Robert  Walpole,  money  has  seldom 
been  worth,  in  England,  over  five  per  cent.,  and  larger  dividends 
on  vested  property  have  generally  been  succeeded  by  heavy  losses, 
however  plausible  the  promises  and  clear  the  statements  of  stock- 
jobbers and  speculators. 

After  the  explosion  of  the  South  Sea  Company,  Walpole  became 
possessed  of  almost  unlimited  power.     And  one  of  the  first  objects 


CHAP.  XIX.J  ENLIGHTENED   POLICY    OF    WALPOLE,  299 

to  which  he  directed  attention,  after  settling  the  finances,  was  the 
removal  of  petty  restrictions  on  commerce.  He  abolished  the  ex- 
port duties  on  one  hundred  and  six  articles,  of  British  manufacture, 
and  allowed  thirty-eight  articles  of  raw  material  to  be  imported 
duty  free.  This  regulation  was  made  to  facilitate  trade  with  the 
colonies,  and  prevent  them  from  manufacturing ;  and  this  regula- 
tion accomplished  the  end  desired.  Both  England  and  the  colonies 
were  enriched.  It  was  doubtless  the  true  policy  of  British  states- 
men then,  as  now,  to  advance  the  commercial,  manufacturing,  and 
agricultural  interests  of  Great  Britain,  rather  than  meddle  with  for- 
eign wars,  or  seek  glory  on  the  field  of  battle.  The  principles 
of  Sir  Robert  Walpole  were  essentially  pacific  ;  and  under  his 
administration,  England  made  a  great  advance  in  substantial  pros- 
perity. In  this  policy  he  surpassed  all  the  statesmen  who  preceded 
or  succeeded  him,  and  this  constituted  his  glory  and  originality. 

But  liberal  and  enlightened  as  was  the  general  course  of  Wal- 
pole, he  still  made  blunders,  and  showed  occasional  illiberality. 
He  caused  a  fine  of  one  hundred  thousand  pounds  to  be  inflicted 
on  the  Catholics,  on  the  plea  that  they  were  a  disaflTected  body. 
He  persecuted  Bishop  Atterbury,  and  permitted  Bolingbroke,  with 
his  restless  spirit  of  intrigue,  to  return  to  his  country,  and  to  be 
reinstated  in  his  property  and  titles.  He  flattered  the  Duchess  of 
Kendall,  the  mistress  of  the  king,  and  stooped  to  all  the  arts  of 
corruption  and  bribery.  There  never  was  a  period  of  greater 
political  corruption  than  during  the  administration  of  this  minister. 
Sycophancy,  meanness,  and  hypocrisy  were  resorted  to  by  the 
statesmen  of  the  age,  who  generally  sought  their  own  interests 
rather  than  the  welfare  of  the  nation.  There  were,  however, 
exceptions.  Townsend,  the  great  rival  and  coadjutor  of  Walpole, 
retired  from  office  with  an  unsullied  fame  for  integrity  and  disin- 
terestedness ;  and  Walpole,  while  he  bribed  others,  did  not  enrich 
himself. 

King  George  I.  died  on  the  1 1th  of  June,  1727,  suddenly,  by 
apoplexy,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  George  II.,  a  man  who 
resembled  his  father  in  disposition  and  character,  and  was  superior 
to  him  in  knowledge  of  the  English  constitution,  though  both  were 
inclined  to  steer  the  British  bark  by  the  Hanoverian  rudder.  Like 
his  father,  he  was  reserved,  phlegmatic,  cautious,  sincere,  fond  of 


300  EAST    INDIA   COMPANY.  [cHAP.  XIX. 

business,  economical,  and  attached  to  Whig  principles.  He  was 
fortunate  in  liis  wife,  Queen  Caroline,  one  of  the  most  excellent 
women  of  the  age,  learned,  religious,  charitable,  and  sensible ; 
the  patroness  of  divines  and  scholars ;  fond  of  discussion  on 
metaphysical  subjects,  and  a  correspondent  of  the  distinguished 
Leibnitz. 

The  new  king  disliked  Walpole,  but  could  not  do  without  him, 
and  therefore  continued  him  in  office.  Indeed,  the  king  had  the 
sense  to  perceive  that  England  was  to  be  governed  only  by  the 
man  in  whom  the  nation  had  confidence. 

In  1730,  Walpole  rechartered  the  East  India  Company,  the 
most  gigantic  monopoly  in  the  history  of  nations.  As  early  as 
1599,  an  association  had  been  formed  in  England  for  trade  to  the 
East  Indies.  This  association  was  made  in  consequence  of  the 
Dutch  and  Portuguese  settlements  and  enterprises,  which  aroused 
the  commercial  jealousy  of  England.  The  capital  was  sixty-eight 
thousand  pounds.  In  1600,  Queen  Elizabeth  gave  the  company  a 
royal  charter.  By  this  charter,  the  company  obtained  the  right  of 
purchasing  land,  without  limit,  in  India,  and  the  monopoly  of  the 
trade  for  fifteen  years.  But  the  company  contended  with  many  ob- 
stacles. The  first  voyage  was  made  by  four  ships  and  one  pinnace, 
having  on  board  twenty-eight  thousand  pounds  in  bullion,  and  seven 
thousand  pounds  in  merchandise,  such  as  tin,  cutlery,  and  glass. 

During  the  civil  wars,  the  company's  affairs  were  embarrassed, 
owing  to  the  unsettled  state  of  England.  On  the  accession  of 
Charles  II.,  the  company  obtained  a  new  charter,  w^hich  not  only 
confirmed  the  old  privileges,  but  gave  it  the  power  of  making 
peace  and  war  with  the  native  princes  of  India.  The  capital  stock 
was  increased  to  one  million  five  hundred  thousand  pounds. 

Much  opposition  was  made  by  Bolingbroke  and  the  Tories  to 
the  recharter  of  this  institution;  but  the  ministry  carried  their 
point,  and  a  new  charter  was  granted  on  the  condition  of  the  com- 
pany paying  to  government  two  hundred  thousand  pounds,  and 
reducing  the  interest  of  the  government  debts  one  per  cent,  per 
annum.  By  this  time,  the  company,  although  it  had  not  greatly 
enlarged  its  jurisdiction  in  India,  had  accumulated  great  wealth. 
Its  powers  and  possessions  will  be  more  fully  treated  when  the 
victories  of  Clive  shall  be  presented. 


CHAP.  XIX.]  RESIGNATION    OF    TOWNSEND.  301 

About  this  time,  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  came  into  the  cabinet 
whose  future  administration  will  form  the  subject  of  a  separate 
chapter. 

In  1730  also  occurred  the  disagreement  between  Walpole  anC 
Lord  Townsend,  which  ended  in  th6  resignation  of  the  latter,  a 
man  whose  impetuous  and  frank  temper  ill  fitted  him  to  work  with 
so  cautious  and  non-committal  a  statesman  as  his  powerful  rival. 
He  passed  the  evening  of  his  days  in  rural  pursuits  and  agricul- 
tural experiments,  keeping  open  house,  devoting  himself  to  his 
family  and  friends,  never  hankering  after  the  power  he  had  lost, 
never  even  revisiting  London,  and  finding  his  richest  solace  in  lit- 
erature and  simple  agricultural  pleasures  —  the  pattern  of  a  lofty 
and  cultivated  nobleman. 

The  resignation  of  Townsend  enabled  Walpole  to  take  more 
part  in  foreign  negotiations  ;  and  he  exerted  his  talents,  like  Fleurj" 
in  France,  to  preserve  the  peace  of  Europe.  The  peace  policy 
of  Walpole  entitles  him  to  the  gratitude  of  his  country.  More 
than  any  other  man  of  his  age,  he  apprehended  the  true  glory  and 
interests  of  nations.  Had  Walpole  paid  as  much  attention  to  the 
intellectual  improvement  of  his  countrymen,  as  he  did  to  the  re- 
finements of  material  life  and  to  physical  progress,  he  would  have 
merited  still  higher  praises.  But  he  despised  learning,  and  neg- 
lected literary  men.  And  they  turned  against  him  and  his  admin- 
istration, and,  by  their  sarcasm  and  invective,  did  much  to  under- 
mine his  power.  Pope,  Swift,  and  Gay  might  have  lent  him 
powerful  aid  by  their  satirical  pen ;  but  he  passed  them  by  with 
contemptuous  indiflTerence,  and  they  gave  to  Bolingbroke  what  they 
withheld  from  Walpole. 

Next  to  the  pacific  policy  of  the  minister,  the  most  notice- 
able peculiarity  of  his  administration  was  his  zeal  to  improve  the 
finances.  He  opposed  speculations,  and  sought  a  permanent 
revenue  from  fixed  principles.  He  regarded  the  national  debt  as 
a  great  burden,  and  strove  to  abolish  it ;  and,  when  that  was  found 
to  be  impracticable,  sought  to  prevent  its  further  accumulation. 
He  was  not,  indeed,  always  true  to  his  policy;  but  he  pursued  it, 
on  the  whole,  consistently.  He  favored  the  agricultural  interests, 
and  was  inclined  to  raise  the  necessary  revenue  by  a  tax  on  articles 
used,  rather  than  by  direct  taxation  on  property  or  income,  or  arti- 
26 


302  UNPOPULARITY    OF    WALPOLE.  [cHAP.  XIX 

cles  imported.  Hence  he  is  the  father  of  the  excise  scheme  —  a 
scheme  still  adopted  in  England,  but  which  would  be  intolerable 
in  this  country.  In  this  scheme,  his  grand  object  was  to  ease  the 
landed  proprietor,  and  to  prevent  smuggling,  by  making  smuggling 
no  object.  But  the  opposition  to  the  Excise  Bill  was  so  great  that 
Sir  Robert  abandoned  it ;  and  this  relinquishment  of  his  favorite 
scheme  is  one  of  the  most  striking  peculiarities  of  his  administra- 
tion. He  never  pushed  matters  to  extremity.  He  ever  yielded 
to  popular  clamor.  He  perceived  that  an  armed  force  would  be 
necessary  in  order  to  collect  the  excise,  and  preferred  to  yield  his 
cherished  measures  to  run  the  danger  of  incurring  greater  evils 
than  financial  embarrassments.  His  spirit  of  conciliation,  often 
exercised  in  the  plenitude  of  power,  prolonged  his  reign.  This 
policy  was  the  result  of  immense  experience  and  practical  knowl- 
edge of  human  nature,  of  which  he  was  a  great  master. 

But  Sir  Robert  was  not  allowed  to  pursue  to  the  end  his  pacific, 
any  more  tlian  his  financial  policy.  The  clamors  of  interested 
merchants,  the  violence  of  party  spirit,  and  the  dreams  of  heroic 
grandeur  on  the  part  of  politicians,  overcame  the  repugnance  of 
the  minister,  and  plunged  England  in  a  disastrous  Spanish  war ; 
and  a  war  soon  succeeded  by  that  of  the  Austrian  Succession,  in 
which  Maria  Theresa  was  the  injured,  and  Frederic  the  Great  the 
offending  party.  But  this  war,  which  was  carried  on  chiefly 
during  the  subsequent  administration,  will  be  hereafter  alluded  to. 

Although  Walpole  was  opposed  by  some  of  the  ablest  men  in 
England  —  by  Pulteney,  Sir  William  Windham,  and  the  Lords 
Chesterfield,  Carteret,  and  Bolingbroke,  his  power  was  almost 
absolute  from  1730  to  1740.  His  most  powerful  assistance  was 
derived  from  Mr.  Yorke,  afterwards  the  Lord  Chancellor  Hard- 
wicke,  one  of  the  greatest  lawyers  that  England  has  produced. 

In  1740,  his  power  began  to  decline,  and  rapidly  waned.  He 
lost  a  powerful  friend  and  protector  by  the  death  of  Queen  Caro- 
line, whose  intercessions  with  the  king  were  ever  listened  to  with 
respectful  consideration.  But  he  had  almost  insurmountable 
obstacles  to  contend  with  —  the  distrust  of  the  king,  the  bitter 
hatred  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  the  violent  opposition  of  the  lead- 
ing statesmen  in  parliament,  and  universal  envy.  Moreover,  he 
had  grown  careless  and  secure.     He  fancied  that  no  one  could 


CHAP.  XIX.]  DECLINE    OF   HIS    POWER.  303 

rule  England  but  himself.  But  hatred,  opposition,  envy,  and  un- 
successful military  operations,  forced  him  from  his  place.  No 
shipwrecked  pilot  ever  clung  to  the  rudder  of  a  sinking  ship  with 
more  desperate  tenacity  than  did  this  once  powerful  minister  to 
the  helm  of  state.  And  he  did  not  relinquish  it  until  he  was 
driven  from  it  by  the  desertion  of  all  his  friends,  and  the  general 
clamor  of  the  people.  The  king,  however,  appreciated  the  value 
of  his  services,  and  created  him  Earl  of  Orford,  a  dignity  which 
had  been  offered  him  before,  but  which,  with  self-controlling 
policy,  he  had  unhesitatingly  declined.  Like  Sir  Robert  Peel  in 
later  times,  he  did  not  wish  to  be  buried  in  the  House  of  Lords. 

His  retirement  ( 1742)  amid  the  beeches  and  oaks  of  his  country 
seat  was  irksome  and  insipid.  He  had  no  taste  for  history,  or 
science,  or  elegant  literature,  or  quiet  pleasures.  His  tumultuous 
public  life  had  engendered  other  tastes.  "  I  wish,"  said  he  to  a 
friend,  "  I  took  as  much  delight  in  reading  as  you  do.  It  would 
alleviate  my  tedious  hours."  But  the  fallen  minister,  though 
uneasy  and  restless,  was  not  bitter  or  severe.  He  retained  his 
good  humor  to  the  last,  and  to  the  last  discharged  all  the  rites 
of  an  elegant  hospitality.     Said  his  enemy.  Pope,  — 

*•  Seen  him  I  have,  but  in  his  happier  hour 
Of  social  pleasure  —  ill  exchanged  for  power  ; 
Seen  him^  uncumbered  by  the  venal  tribe, 
Smile  without  art,  and  win  without  a  bribe." 

He  had  the  habit  of  "  laughing  the  heart's  laugh,"  which  it  is 
only  in  the  power  of  noble  natures  to  exercise.  His  manners 
were  winning,  his  conversation  frank,  and  his  ordinary  intercoui'se 
divested  of  vanity  and  pomp.  He  had  many  warm  personal 
friends,  and  did  not  enrich  himself,  as  Marlborough  did,  while  lie 
enriched  those  who  served  him.  He  kept  a  public  table  at  Hough- 
ton, to  which  all  gentlemen  in  the  country  had  free  access. '  He  was 
fond  of  hunting  and  country  sports,  and  had  more  taste  for  pictures 
than  for  books.  He  was  not  what  would  be  called  a  man  of 
genius  or  erudition,  but  had  a  sound  judgment,  great  sagacity, 
wonderful  self-command,  and  undoubted  patriotism.  As  a  wise 
and  successful  ruler,  he  will  long  be  held  in  respect,  though  ho 
will  never  secure  veneration. 


90^  JOHN   WESLEY.  [CHAP.  XIX. 

It  was  during  the  latter  years  of  the  administration  of  Walpole, 
that  England  was  electrified  by  the  preaching  of  Whitefield  and 
Wesley,  and  the  sect  of  the  Methodists  arose,  which  has  exercised  a 
powerful  influence  on  the  morals,  religion,  and  social  life  of  England. 

John  Wesley,  who  may  rank  with  Augustine,  Pelagius,  Calvin, 
Arminius,  or  Jansen,  as  the  founder  of  a  sect,  was  demanded  by 
the  age  in  which  he  lived.  Never,  since  the  Reformation,  was  the 
state  of  religion  so  cold  in  England.  The  Established  Church  had 
triumphed  over  all  her  enemies.  Puritanism  had  ceased  to  be- 
come offensive,  and  had  even  become  respectable.  The  age  of 
fox-hunting  parsons  had  commenced,  and  the  clergy  were  the 
dependants  of  great  families,  easy  in  their  manners,  and  fond  of 
the  pleasures  of  the  table.  They  were  not  expected  to  be  very- 
great  scholars,  or  very  grave  companions.  If  they  read  the 
service  with  propriety,  did  not  scandalize  their  cause  by  gross 
indulgences,  and  did  not  meddle  with  the  two  exciting  subjects  of 
all  ages,  —  politics  and  religion, — they  were  sure  of  peace  and 
plenty.  But  their  churches  were  comparatively  deserted,  and  in- 
fidel opinions  had  been  long  undermining  respect  for  the  institu- 
tions and  ministers  of  religion.  Swearing  and  drunkenness  were 
fashionable  vices  among  the  higher  classes,  while  low  pleasures 
and  lamentable  ignorance  characterized  the  people.  The  dissent- 
ing sects  were  more  religious,  but  were  formal  and  cold.  Their 
ministers  preached,  too  often,  a  mere  technical  divinity,  or  a  lax 
system  of  ethics.  The  Independents  were  inclined  to  a  frigid  Ar- 
minianism,  and  the  Presbyterians  were  passing  through  the  change 
from  ultra  Calvinism  to  Arianism  and  Socinianism. 

The  reformation  was  not  destined  to  come  from  Dissenters,  but 
from  the  bosom  of  the  Established  Church,  a  reformation  which 
bore  the  same  relation  to  Protestantism  as  that  effected  by  St. 
Francis  bore  to  Roman  Catholicism  in  the  thirteenth  century ;  a 
reformation  among  the  poorer  classes,  who  did  not  wish  to  be 
separated  from  the  Church  Establishment. 

John  Wesley  belonged  to  a  good  family,  his  father  being  a 
respectable  clergyman  in  a  market  town.  He  was  bom  in  1703 
was  educated  at  Oxford,  and  for  the  church.  At  the  age  of 
twenty,  he  received  orders  from  the  Bishop  of  Oxford,  and  was, 
shortly  after,  chosen  fellow  of  Lincoln  College,  and  then  Greek 
lecturer. 


CHA.P.  XIX.]  EARLY   LIFE    OF   WESLEY.  305 

While  at  Oxford,  he  and  his  brother  Charles,  who  was  also  a 
fellow  and  a  fine  scholar,  excited  the  ridicule  of  the  University  for 
the  strictness  of  their  lives,  and  their  methodical  way  of  living, 
which  caused  their  companions  to  give  them  the  name  of  Method- 
ists. Two  other  young  men  joined  them  —  James  Hervey,  author 
of  the  Meditations,  and  George  Whitefield.  The  fraternity  at 
length  numbered  fifteen  young  men,  the  members  of  which  met 
frequently  for  religious  purposes,  visited  prisons  and  the  sick, 
fasted  zealously  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays,  and  bound  themselves 
by  rules,  which,  in  many  respects,  resembled  those  which  Ignatius 
Loyola  imposed  on  his  followers.  The  Imitation  of  Christ,  by  A 
Kempis,  and  Taylor's  Holy  Living,  were  their  grand  text-books, 
both  of  which  were  studied  for  their  devotional  spirit.  But  the 
Holy  Living  was  the  favorite  book  of  Wesley,  who  did  not  fully  ap- 
prove of  the  rigid  asceticism  of  the  venerable  mystic  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  The  writings  of  William  Law,  also,  had  great  influence 
on  the  mind  of  Wesley  ;  but  his  religious  views  were  not  matured 
until  after  his  return  from  Georgia,  where  he  had  labored  as  a  mis- 
sionary, under  the  auspices  of  Oglethorpe.  The  Moravians,  whom 
he  met  with  both  in  America  and  Germany,  completed  the  work 
which  Taylor  had  begun ;  and  from  their  beautiful  establishments 
he  also  learned  many  principles  of  that  wonderful  system  of  gov- 
ernment which  he  so  successfully  introduced  among  his  followers. 

Wesley  continued  his  labors  with  earnestness ;  but  these  were 
also  attended  with  some  extravagances,  which  Dr.  Potter,  the 
worthy  Bishop  of  London,  and  other  Churchmen,  could  not  under- 
stand. And  though  he  preached  with  great  popular  acceptance, 
and  gained  wonderful  eclat,  though  he  was  much  noticed  in  society, 
and  even  dined  with  the  king  at  Hampton  Court,  and  with  the 
Prince  of  Wales  at  St.  James's,  still  the  churches  were  gradually 
shut  against  him.  When  Whitefield  returned  from  Georgia,  hav- 
ing succeeded  Wesley  as  a  missionary  in  that  colony,  and  finding 
so  much  opposition  from  the  dignitaries  of  the  Church,  although 
neither  he  nor  Wesley  had  seceded  from  the  Church ;  and,  above 
all,  excited  by  the  popular  favor  he  received,  —  for  the  churches 
would  not  hold  half  who  flocked  to  hear  him  preach,  —  he  resolved 
to  address  the  people  in  the  open  air.  The  excitement  he  pro- 
duced was  unparalleled.  Near  Bristol,  he  sometimes  assembled 
26*         V 


806  WHITEFIELD.  [cHAP.  XIX. 

as  many  as  twenty  thousand.  But  they  were  chiefly  the  colliers, 
drawn  forth  from  their  subterranean  working  places.  But  his 
eloquence  had  equal  fascination  for  the  people  of  London  and  the 
vicinity.  In  Moorficlds,  on  Kennington  Common,  and  on  Black- 
heath,  he  sometimes  drew  a  crowd  of  forty  thousand  people,  all 
of  whom  could  hear  his  voice.  He  could  draw  tears  from  Hume, 
and  money  from  Dr.  Franklin.  He  could  convulse  a  congregation 
with  terror,  and  then  inspire  them  with  the  brightest  hopes.  He 
was  a  greater  artist  than  Bossuct  or  Bourdaloue.  He  never  lost 
his  self-possession,  or  hesitated  for  appropriate  language.  But  his 
great  power  was  in  his  thorough  earnestness,  and  almost  inspired 
enthusiasm.  No  one  doubted  his  sincerity,  and  all  were  impressed 
with  the  spirituality  and  reality  of  the  great  truths  which  he  pre- 
sented. And  wonderful  results  followed  from  his  preaching,  and 
from  that  of  his  brethren.  A  great  religious  revival  spread  over 
England,  especially  among  the  middle  and  lower  classes,  the 
effects  of  which  last  to  this  day. 

Whitefield  was  not  so  learned,  or  intellectual  as  Wesley.  He 
was  not  so  great  a  genius.  But  he  had  more  eloquence,  and  more 
warmth  of  disposition.  Wesley  was  a  system  maker,  a  metaphy- 
sician, a  logician.  He  was  also  profoundly  versed  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  human  nature,  and  curiously  adapted  his  system  to  the 
wants  and  circumstances  of  that  class  of  people  over  whom  he  had 
the  greatest  power.  Both  Wesley  and  Whitefield  were  demanded 
by  their  times,  and  only  such  men  as  they  were  could  have  suc- 
ceeded. They  were  reproached  for  their  extravagances,  and  for 
a  zeal  which  was  confounded  with  fanaticism  ;  but,  had  they  been 
more  proper,  more  prudent,  more  yielding  to  the  prejudices  of  the 
great,  they  would  not  have  effected  so  much  good  for  their  coun- 
try. So  with  Luther.  Had  he  possessed  a  severer  taste,  had  he 
been  more  of  a  gentleman,  or  more  of  a  philosopher,  or  even  more 
humble,  he  would  not  so  signally  have  succeeded.  Germany,  and 
the  circumstances  of  the  age,  required  a  rough,  practical,  bold, 
impetuous  reformer  to  lead  a  movement  against  dignitaries  and 
venerable  corruptions.  England,  in  the  eighteenth  centurj-, 
needed  a  man  to  arouse  the  common  people  to  a  sense  of  their 
spiritual  condition ;  a  man  who  would  not  be  trammelled  by  his 
churrh ;  who  would  not  be  governed  by  the  principles  of  expedi- 


CHAP.  XIX,]  INSTITUTION    OF  WESLEY.  307 

ency  ;  who  would  trust  in  God,  and  labor  under  peculiar  discour- 
agement and  self-denial. 

Wesley  was  like  Luther  in  another  respect.  He  quarrelled  with 
those  who  would  not  conform  to  all  his  Views,  whether  they  had 
been  friends  or  foes.  He  had  been  attracted  by  the  Moravians. 
Their  simplicity,  fervor,  and  sedateness  had  won  his  regard.  But 
when  the  Moravians  maintained  that  there  was  delusion  in  those 
ravings  which  Wesley  considered  as  the  work  of  grace,  when 
they  asserted  that  sin  would  remain  with  even  regenerated  man 
until  death,  and  that  it  was  in  vain  to  expect  the  purification  of  the 
soul  by  works  of  self-denial,  Wesley  opposed  them,  and  slandered 
them.  He  also  entered  the  lists  against  his  friend  and  fellow- 
laborer,  Whitefield.  The  latter  did  not  agree  with  him  respecting 
perfection,  nor  election,  nor  predestination ;  and,  when  this  disa- 
greement had  become  fixed,  an  alienation  took  place,  succeeded 
by  actual  bitterness  and  hostility.  Wesley,  however,  in  his  latter 
days,  manifested  greater  charity  and  liberality,  and  was  a  model 
of  patience  and  gentleness.  He  became  finally  reconciled  to 
Whitefield,  and  the  union  continued  until  the  death  of  the  latter,  at 
Newbury  port,  in  1770. 

The  greatness  of  Wesley  consisted  in  devising  that  wonderful 
church  polity  which  still  governs  the  powerful  and  numerous  sect 
which  he  founded.  It  is  from  the  system  of  the  Methodists,  rather 
than  from  their  theological  opinions,  that  their  society  spread  so 
rapidly  over  Great  Britain  and  America,  and  which  numbered 
at  his  death,  seventy-one  thousand  persons  in  England,  and  forty- 
eight  thousand  in  this  country. 

And  yet  his  institution  was  not  wholly  a  matter  of  calculation, 
but  was  gradually  developed  as  circumstances  arose.  When  con- 
tributions were  made  towards  building  a  meeting-house  in  Bristol, 
it  was  observed  that  most  of  the  brethren  were  poor,  and  could 
afford  but  little.  Then  said  one  of  the  number,  "  Put  eleven  of 
the  poorest  with  me,  and  if  they  give  any  thing,  it  is  well.  I  will 
call  on  each  of  them  weekly,  and  if  they  give  nothing,  I  will  give 
for  them  as  well  as  for  myself."  This  suggested  the  idea  of  a 
system  of  supervision.  In  the  course  of  the  weekly  calls,  the 
persons  who  had  undertaken  for  a  class  discovered  some  irregu- 
larities among  those  for  whose  contributions  they  were  responsible, 


308  ITINERANCY,  [cHAP.  XIX. 

and  reported  them  to  Wesley.  He  saw,  at  once,  the  advantage 
to  be  derived  from  such  an  arrangement.  It  was  what  he  had 
long  desired.  He  called  together  the  leaders,  and  desired  that 
each  should  make  a  particular  inquiry  into  the  behavior  of  all 
under  their  respective  supervision.  They  did  so.  The  custom 
was  embraced  by  the  whole  body,  and  became  fundamental.  But 
it  was  soon  found  to  be  inconvenient  to  visit  each  person  separately 
in  his  own  house  weekly,  and  then  it  was  determined  that  all  the 
members  of  the  class  should  assemble  together  weekly,  when 
quarrels  could  be  made  up,  and  where  they  might  be  mutually 
profited  by  each  other's  prayers  and  exhortations.  Thus  the 
system  of  classes  and  class-leaders  arose,  which  bears  the  same 
relation  to  the  society  at  large  that  town  meetings  do  to  the  state 
or  general  government  in  the  American  democracy  —  which,  as  it 
is  known,  constitute  the  genius  of  our  political  institutions. 

Itinerancy  also  forms  another  great  feature  of  Methodism ;  and 
this  resulted  from  accident.  But  it  is  the  prerogative  and  pecu- 
liarity of  genius  to  take  advantage  of  accidents  and  circumstances. 
It  cannot  create  them.  Wesley  had  no  church ;  but,  being  an 
ordained  clergjrman  of  the  Establishment,  and  a  fellow  of  a  college 
beside,  he  had  the  right  to  preach  in  any  pulpit,  and  in  any  dio- 
cese. But  the  pulpits  were  closed  against  him,  in  consequence  of 
his  peculiarities ;  so  he  preached  wherever  he  could  collect  a  con- 
gregation. Itinerancy  and  popularity  gave  him  notoriety,  and  flat- 
tered ambition,  of  which  he  was  not  wholly  divested.  He  and 
his  brethren  wandered  into  every  section  of  England,  from  the 
Northumbrian  moorlands  to  the  innermost  depths  of  the  Cornish 
mines,  in  the  most  tumultuous  cities  and  in  the  most  unfrequented 
hamlets. 

As  he  was  the  father  of  the  sect,  all  appointments  were  made 
by  him,  and,  as  he  deserved  respect  and  influence,  the  same  be- 
came unbounded.  When  power  was  vested  to  an  unlimited  extent 
in  his  hands,  and  when  the  society  had  become  numerous  and 
scattered  over  a  great  extent  of  territory,  he  divided  England  into 
circuits,  and  each  circuit  had  a  certain  number  of  ministers  ap- 
pointed to  it.  But  he  held  out  no  worldly  rewards  as  lures.  The 
conditions  which  he  imposed  were  hard.  The  clergy  were  to  labor 
with  patience  and  assiduity  on  a  mean  pittance,  with  no  hope  of 


CHAP.  XIX.]    GREAT    INFLUENCE   AND   POWER    OF   WESLEY.  309 

wealth  or  ease.  Rewards  were  to  be  given  them  by  no  earthly 
judge.  The  only  recompense  for  toil  and  hunger  was  that  of  the 
original  apostles  —  the  approval  of  their' consciences  and  the  favor 
of  Heaven. 

To  prevent  the  overbearing  intolerance  and  despotism  of  the 
people,  the  chapels  were  not  owned  by  the  congregation,  nor  even 
vested  in  trustees,  but  placed  at  the  absolute  disposal  of  Mr.  Wes- 
ley and  the  conference. 

If  the  rule  of  Wesley  was  not  in  accordance  with  democratic 
principles,  still  its  perpetuation  in  the  most  zealous  of  democratic 
communities,  and  its  escape,  thus  far,  from  the  ordinary  fate  of  all 
human  institutions,  —  that  of  corruption  and  decay,  —  shows  its  re- 
markable wisdom,  and  also  the  great  virtue  of  those  who  have 
administered  the  affairs  of  the  society.  It  effected,  especially  in 
England,  —  what  the  Established  Church  and  the  various  form  of 
Dissenters  could  not  do,  —  the  religious  renovation  of  the  lower 
classes  ;  it  met  their  wants ;  it  stimulated  their  enthusiasm.  And 
while  Methodism  promoted  union  and  piety  among  the  people,  espe- 
cially those  who  were  ignorant  and  poor,  it  did  not  undermine  their 
loyalty  or  attachment  to  the  political  institutions  of  the  country. 
Other  Dissenters  were  often  hostile  to  the  government,  and  have 
been  impatient  under  the  evils  which  have  afflicted  England  ;  but 
the  Methodists,  taught  subordination  to  superiors  and  rulers,  and 
liave  ever  been  patient,  peaceful,  and  quiet. 


References.  —  Lord  Mahon's  History  should  be  particularly  read ;  also 
Coxe's  Memoirs  of  Walpole.  Consult  Smollett's  and  Tindall's  History 
of  England,  and  Belsliam's  History  of  George  H.  Smyth's  Lectures  are 
very  yaluable  on  this  period  of  English  history.  See,  also,  Bolingbroke's 
State  of  Parties  ;  Burke's  Appeal  from  the  Old  to  the  New  Whigs ;  Lord 
Chesterfield's  Characters  ;  and  Cobbett's  Parliamentary  Debates.  Remi- 
niscences by  Horace  Walpole.  For  additional  information  respecting  the 
South  Sea  scheme,  see  Anderson's  and  Macpherson's  Histories  of  Com- 
merce, and  Smyth's  Lectures.  The  lives  of  the  Pretenders  have  been 
well  written  by  Ray  and  Jesse.  Tytler's  History  of  Scotland  should 
be  consulted  ;  and  Waverley  may  be  read  with  profit.  The  rise  of  the 
Methodists,  the  great  event  of  the  reign  of  George  L,  has  been  generally 
neglected.  Lord  Mahon  has,  however,  written  a  valuable  chapter.  See 
also  Wesley's  Letters  and  Diary,  and  Lives,  by  Southey  and  Moore, 


310  COMMERCIAL    ENTERPRISE.  [CHAP.  XI. 

CHAPTER    XX. 

THE  COLONIZATION  OF  AMERICA  AND  THE  EAST  INDIES. 

DiTRiNG  the  administration  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  the  English 
colonies  in  America,  and  the  East  India  Company's  settlements, 
began  to  attract  the  attention  of  ministers,  and  became  of  consid- 
erable political  importance.  It  is,  therefore,  time  to  consider  the 
history  of  colonization,  both  in  the  East  and  West,  and  not  only 
by  the  English,  but  by  the  Spaniards,  the  Portuguese,  the  Dutch, 
and  the  French. 

The  first  settlements  in  the  new  world  by  Europeans,  and  their 
conquests  in  the  unknown  regions  of  the  old,  were  made  chiefly 
in  view  of  commercial  advantages.  The  love  of  money,  that  root 
of  all  evil,  was  overruled  by  Providence  in  the  discovery  of  new 
worlds,  and  the  diffusion  of  European  civilization  in  countries 
inhabited  by  savages,  or  worn-out  Oriental  races.  But  the  mere 
ignoble  love  of  gain  was  not  the  only  motive  which  incited  the 
Europeans  to  navigate  unknown  oceans  and  colonize  new  conti- 
nents. There  was  also  another,  and  this  was  the  spirit  of  enter- 
prise, which  magically  aroused  the  European  mind  in  the  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  centuries.  Marco  Polo,  when  he  visited  the  East ; 
the  Portuguese,  when  they  doubled  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  ;  Co- 
lumbus, when  he  discovered  America ;  and  Magellan,  when  he 
entered  the  South  Sea,  were  moved  by  curiosity  and  love  of  sci- 
ence, more  than  by  love  of  gold.  But  the  vast  wealth,  which  the 
newly-discovered  countries  revealed,  stimulated,  in  the  breasts  of 
the  excited  Europeans,  the  powerful  passions  of  ambition  and  ava- 
rice ;  and  the  needy  and  grasping  governments  of  Spain,  Portu- 
gal, Holland,  France,  and  England  patronized  adventurers  to  the 
new  El  Dorado,  and  furnished  them  with  ships  and  stores,  in  the 
hope  of  receiving  a  share  of  the  profits  of  their  expedition.  And 
they  were  not  disappointed.  Although  many  disasters  happened 
to  the  early  navigators,  still  country  after  country  was  added  to 
the  possessions  of  European  kings,  and  vast  sums  of  gold  and 


CHAP.  XX.]         SPANISH    CONQUESTS    AND    SETTLEMENTS.  311 

silver  were  melted  into  European  coin.  No  conquests  were  ever 
more  sudden  and  brilliant  than  those  of  Cortez  and  Pizarro,  nor 
did  wealth  ever  before  so  suddenly  enrich  the  civilized  world.  But 
sudden  and  unlawful  gains  produced  their  natural  fruit.  All  the 
worst  evils  which  flow  from  extravagance,  extortion,  and  pride  pre- 
vailed in  the  old  world  and  the  new ;  and  those  advantages  and 
possessions,  which  had  been  gained  by  enterprise,  were  turned  into 
a  curse,  for  no  wealth  can  balance  the  vices  of  avarice,  injustice, 
and  cruelty. 

The  most  important  of  all  the  early  settlements  of  America 
were  made  by  the  Spaniards.  Their  conquests  were  the  most 
,  brilliant,  and  proved  the  most  worthless.  The  spirit  which  led 
to  their  conquests  and  colonization  was  essentially  that  of  avarice 
and  ambition.  It  must,  however,  be  admitted  that  religious  zeal, 
in  some  instances,  was  the  animating  principle  of  the  adventurers 
and  of  those  what  patronized  them. 

The  first  colony  was  established  in  Hispaniola,  or,  as  it  was 
afterwards  called,  St.  Domingo,  a  short  time  after  the  discovery 
of  America  by  Columbus.  The  mines  of  the  island  were,  at  that 
period,  very  productive,  and  the  aggressive  Spaniards  soon  com- 
pelled the  unhappy  natives  to  labor  in  them,  under  their  governor, 
Juan  Ponce  de  Leon.  But  Hispaniola  was  not  sufficiently  large  or 
productive  to  satisfy  the  cupidity  of  the  governor,  and  Porto  Rico 
was  conquered  and  enslaved.  Cuba  also,  in  a  few  years,  was 
added  to  the  dominions  of  Spain. 

At  length,  the  Spaniards,  who  had  explored  the  coasts  of  the 
Main  land,  prepared  to  invade  and  conquer  the  populous  territories 
of  Montezuma,  Emperor  of  Mexico.  The  people  whom  he  gov- 
erned had  attained  a  considerable  degree  of  civilization,  having  a 
regular  government,  a  system  of  laws,  and  an  established  priest- 
hood. They  were  not  ignorant  of  the  means  of  recording  great 
events,  and  possessed  considerable  skill  in  many  useful  and  orna 
mental  arts.  They  were  rich  in  gold  and  silver,  and  their  cities 
were  ornamented  with  palaces  and  gardens.  But  their  riches 
were  irresistible  objects  of  desire  to  the  European  adventurers, 
and,  therefore,  proved  their  misfortune.  The  story  of  their  con- 
quest by  Fernando  Cortez  need  not  here  be  told ;  familiarized  as 
are  all  readers  and  students  with  the  exquisite  and  artistic  narra- 


312  POETUGUESE   DISCOVERIES.  [cHAP.  XX. 

tive  of  the  great  American  historian,  whose  work  and  whose  fame 
can  only  perish  with  the  language  itself. 

About  ten  years  after  the  conquest  of  Mexico,  Pizarro  landed 
in  Peru,  which  country  was  soon  added  to  the  dominions  of  Philip 
II.  And  the  government  of  that  country  was  even  more  oppres- 
sive and  unjust  than  that  of  Mexico.  All  Indians  between  the 
ages  of  fifteen  and  fifty  were  compelled  to  work  in  the  mines ;  and 
so  dreadful  was  the  forced  labor,  that  four  out  of  five  of  those 
who  worked  in  them  were  supposed  to  perish  annually.  There 
was  no  limit  to  Spanish  rapacity  and  cruelty,  and  it  was  exercised 
over  all  the  other  countries  which  were  subdued  —  Chili,  Florida, 
and  the  West  India  Islands. 

Enormous  and  unparalleled  quantities  of  the  precious  metals 
were  sent  to  Spain  from  the  countries  of  the  new  world.  But, 
from  the  first  discovery  of  Peru  and  Mexico,  the  mother  country 
declined  in  wealth  and  political  importance.  With  the  increase 
of  gold,  the  price  of  labor  and  of  provision,  and  of  all  articles  of 
manufacturing  industry,  also  increased,  and  nearly  in  the  same 
ratio.  The  Spaniards  were  insensible  to  this  truth,  and,  instead 
of  cultivating  the  soil  or  engaging  in  manufactures,  were  contented 
with  the  gold  which  came  from  the  colonies.  This,  for  a  while, 
enriched  them  ;  but  it  was  soon  scattered  over  all  Christendom,  and 
was  exchanged  for  the  necessities  of  life.  Industry  and  art  de- 
clined, and  those  countries  alone  were  the  gainers  which  produced 
those  articles  which  Spain  was  obliged  to  purchase. 

Portugal  soon  rivalled  Spain  in  the  extent  and  richness  of  colo- 
nial possessions.  Brazil  was  discovered  in  1501,  and,  in  about 
half  a  century  after,  was  colonized.  The  native  Brazilians,  infe- 
rior in  civilization  to  the  Mexicans  and  Peruvians,  were  still  less 
able  than  they  to  resist  the  arms  of  the  Europeans.  They  were 
gradually  subdued,  and  their  beautiful  and  fertile  country  came 
into  possession  of  the  victors.  But  the  Portuguese  also  extended 
their  empire  in  the  East,  as  well  as  in  the  West.  After  the  discovery 
of  a  passage  round  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  by  Vasco  de  Gama, 
the  early  navigators  sought  simply  to  be  enriched  by  commerce 
with  the  Indies.  They  found  powerful  rivals  in  the  Arabs,  who 
had  heretofore  monopolized  the  trade.  In  order  to  secure  their 
commerce,  and  also   to  protect   themselves   against  their  rivals 


CHAP.  XX.]         PORTUGUESE  SETTLEMENTS.  313 

and  enemies,  the  Portuguese,  under  the  guidance  of  Albuquerque, 
procured  a  grant  of  land  in  India,  from  one  of  the  native  princes. 
Soon  after,  Goa  was  reduced,  and  became  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment ;  and  territorial  acquisition  commenced,  which,  having  been 
continued  nearly  three  centuries  by  the  various  European  powers, 
is  still  progressive.  In  about  sixty  years,  the  Portuguese  had 
established  a  great  empire  in  the  East,  which  included  the  coasts 
and  islands  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  the  whole  Malabar  and  Coroman- 
del  coasts,  the  city  of  Malacca,  and  numerous  islands  of  the  In- 
dian Ocean.  They  had  effected  a  settlement  in  China,  obtained  a 
free  trade  with  the  empire  of  Japan,  and  received  tribute  from 
the  rich  Islands  of  Ceylon,  Java,  and  Sumatra. 

The  same  moral  effects  happened  to  Portugal,  from  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Indies,  that  the  conquests  of  Cortez  and  Pizarro  pro- 
duced on  Spain.  Goa  was  the  most  depraved  spot  in  the  world ; 
and  the  vices  which  wealth  engendered,  wherever  the  Europeans 
formed  a  settlement,  can  now  scarcely  be  believed.  When  Portu- 
gal fell  under  the  dominion  of  Philip  11. ,  the  ruin  of  her  settle- 
ments commenced.  They  were  supplanted  by  the  Dutch,  who 
were  more  moral,  more  united  and  enterprising,  though  they  pro- 
voked, by  their  arrogance  and  injustice,  the  hostility  of  the  Eastern 
princes. 

The  conquests  and  settlements  of  the  Dutch  rapidly  succeeded 
those  of  the  Portuguese.  In  1595,  Cornelius  Houtman  sailed, 
with  a  well-provided  fleet,  for  the  land  of  gems  and  spices.  A 
company  was  soon  incorporated,  in  Holland,  for  managing  the 
Indian  trade.  Settlements  were  first  made  in  the  Moluccas  Islands, 
which  soon  extended  to  the  possession  of  the  Island  of  Java,  and 
to  the  complete  monopoly  of  the  spice  trade.  The  Dutch  then 
gained  possession  of  the  Island  of  Ceylon,  which  they  retained 
until  it  was  wrested  from  them  by  the  English.  But  their  empire 
was  only  maintained  at  a  vast  expense  of  blood  and  treasure ; 
nor  were  they  any  exception  to  the  other  European'  colonists  and 
adventurers,  in  the  indulgence  of  all  those  vices  which  degrade 
\,  our  nature. 

Neither  the  French  nor  the  English  made  any  important  con- 
quests in  the  East,  when  compared  with  those  of  the  Portuguese 
and  Du\ch.  Nor  did  their  acquisitions  in  America  equal  those  of 
27 


314  EARLY   ENGLISH   ENTERPRISE.  [cHAP.  XX. 

the  Spaniards.  But  they  were  more  important  in  tlieir  ultimate 
results. 

English  enterprise  was  manifested  shortly  after  the  first  voyage 
of  Columbus.  Henry  VII.  was  sufficiently  enlightened,  envious, 
and  avaricious,  to  listen  to  the  proposals  of  a  Venetian,  resident  in 
Bristol,  by  the  name  of  Cabot ;  and,  in  1495,  he  commissioned 
him  to  sail  under  the  banner  of  England,  to  take  possession  of  any 
new  countries  he  might  discover.  Accordingly,  in  about  two  years 
after,  Cabot,  with  his  second  son,  Sebastian,  embarked  at  Bristol, 
in  one  of  the  king's  ships,  attended  by  four  smaller  vessels, 
equipped  by  the  merchants  of  that  enterprising  city. 

Impressed  with  the  idea  of  Columbus,  and  other  early  navigators, 
that  the  West  India  Islands  were  not  far  from  the  Indian  continent, 
he  concluded  that,  if  he  steered  in  a  more  northerly  direction,  he 
should  reach  India  by  a  shorter  course  than  that  pursued  by  the 
great  discoverer.  Accordingly,  sailing  in  that  course,  he  discov- 
ered Newfoundland  and  Prince  Edwards',  and,  soon  after,  the  coast 
of  North  America,  along  which  he  sailed,  from  Labrador  to  Vir- 
ginia. But,  disappointed  in  not  finding  a  westerly  pass?ige  to 
India,  he  returned  to  England,  without  attempting,  either  by  settle- 
ment or  conquest,  to  gain  a  footing  on  the  great  continent  which 
the  English  were  the  second  to  visit,  of  all  the  European  nations. 

England  was  prevented,  by  various  circumstances,  from  deriving 
immediate  advantage  from  the  discovery.  The  unsettled  state  of 
the  country ;  the  distractions  arising  from  the  civil  wars,  and  after- 
wards from  the  Reformation ;  the  poverty  of  the  people,  and  the 
sordid  nature  of  the  king,  —  were  unfavorable  to  settlements  which 
promised  no  immediate  advantage  ;  and  it  was  not  until  the  reign 
of  Elizabeth  that  any  deliberate  plans  were  made  for  the  coloniza- 
tion of  North  America.  The  voyages  of  Frobisher  and  Drake 
had  aroused  a  spirit  of  adventure,  if  they  had  not  gratified  the 
thirst  for  gold. 

Among  those  who  felt  an  intense  interest  in  the  new  world,  was 
Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  a  man  of  enlarged  views  and  intrepid 
boldness.  He  secured  from  Elizabeth  (1578)  a  hberal  patent, 
and  sailed,  with  a  considerable  body  of  adventurers,  for  the  new 
world.  But  he  took  a  too  northerly  direction,  and  his  largest  ves- 
sel was  shipwrecked  on  the  coast  of  Cape  Breton.   The  enterprise 


CHAP.  XX.]  SIR   WALTER   RALEIGH.  315 

from  various  causes,  completely  failed,  and  the  intrepid  navigator 
lost  his  life. 

The  spirit  of  the  times  raised  up,  however,  a  greater  genius,  and 
a  more  accomplished  adventurer,  and  no  less  a  personage  than 
Sir  Walter  Raleigh, — the  favorite  of  the  queen  ;  one  of  the  greatest 
scholars  and  the  most  elegant  courtier  of  the  age ;  a  soldier,  a  phi- 
losopher, and  a  statesman.  He  obtained  a  patent,  substantially 
the  same  as  that  which  had  been  bestowed  on  Gilbert.  In  1584, 
Kaleigh  despatched  two  small  exploring  vessels,  under  the  command 
of  Amidas  and  Barlow,  which  seasonably  arrived  off  the  coast  of 
North  Carolina.  From  the  favorable  report  of  the  country  and 
the  people,  a  larger  fleet,  of  seven  ships,  was  despatched  to  Amer- 
ica, commanded  by  Sir  Richard  Grenville.  But  he  was  diverted 
from  his  course  by  the  prevailing  passion  for  predatory  enterprise, 
and  hence  only  landed  one  hundred  and  eight  men  at  Roanoke, ' 
(1585.)  The  government  of  this  feeble  band  was  intrusted  to 
Captain  Lane.  But  the  passion  for  gold  led  to  a  misunderstanding 
Avith  the  natives.  The  colony  became  enfeebled  and  reduced,  and 
the  adventurers  returned  to  England,  (1586,)  bringing  with  them 
some  knowledge  of  the  country,  and  also  that  singular  weed,  which 
rapidly  enslaved  the  courtiers  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  which  soon 
became  one  of  the  great  staple  commodities  in  the  trade  of  the 
civilized  world.  Modern  science  has  proved  it  to  be  a  poison,  and 
modern  philanthropy  has  lifted  up  its  warning  voice  against  the  use 
of  it.  But  when  have  men,  in  their  degeneracy,  been  governed 
by  their  reason  ?  What  logic  can  break  the  power  of  habit,  or 
counteract  the  seductive  influences  of  those  excitements  which  fill 
the  mind  with  visionary  hopes,  and  lull  a  tumultuous  spirit  into  the 
repose  of  pleasant  dreams  and  oblivious  joys  ?  Sir  Walter  Raleigh, 
to  his  shame  or  his  misfortune,  was  among  the  first  to  patronize  a 
custom  which  has  proved  more  injurious  to  civilized  nations  than 
even  the  use  of  opium  itself,  because  it  is  more  universal  and 
more  insidious. 

But  smoking  was  simply  an  amusement  with  him.  He  soon 
turned  his  thoughts  to  the  reestablishment  of  his  colony.  Even 
before  the  return  of  the  company  under  Lane,  Sir  Richard  Gren- 
ville had  visited  the  Roanoke,  with  the  necessary  stores.  But  he 
arrived  too  late ;  the  colony  was  abandoned. 


816  LONDON    COMPANY   INCORPOBATED.  [CHAP.  XX. 

But  nothing  could  abate  the  zeal  of  the  most  enterprising  genius 
of  the  age.  In  1587,  he  despatched  three  more  ships,  under  the 
command  of  Captain  White,  who  founded  the  city  of  Raleigh. 
But  no  better  success  attended  the  new  band  of  colonists.  "White 
sailed  for  England,  to  secure  new  supplies ;  and,  when  he  returned, 
he  found  no  traces  of  the  colony  he  had  planted ;  and  no  subse- 
quent ingenuity  or  labor  has  been  able  to  discover  the  sUghtest 
vestige. 

The  patience  of  Raleigh  was  not  wasted ;  but  new  objects  occu- 
pied his  mind,  and  he  parted  with  his  patent,  which  made  him  the 
proprietary  of  a  great  part  of  the  Southern  States.  Nor  were 
there  any  new  attempts  at  colonization  until  1606,  in  the  reign  of 
James. 

Through  the  influence  of  Sir  Ferdinand  Gorges,  a  man  of  great 
wealth  ;  Sir  John  Popham,  lord  chief  justice  of  England  ;  Richard 
Hakluyt,  the  historian  ;  Bartholomew  Gosnold,  the  navigator,  and 
John  Smith,  the  enthusiastic  adventurer,  —  King  James  I.  granted 
a  royal  charter  to  two  rival  companies,  for  the  colonization  of 
America.  The  first  was  composed  of  noblemen,  gentlemen,  and 
merchants,  in  and  about  London,  who  had  an  exclusive  right  to 
occupy  regions  from  thirty-four  to  thirty-eight  degrees  of  north 
latitude.  The  other  company,  composed  of  gentlemen  and  mer- 
chants in  the  west  of  England,  had  assigned  to  them  the  territorj- 
between  forty-one  and  forty-five  degrees.  But  only  the  first  com- 
pany succeeded. 

The  territory,  appropriated  to  the  London  or  southern  colony, 
preserved  the  name  which  had  been  bestowed  upon  it  during  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth,  — Virginia.  The  colonists  were  authorized  to 
transport,  free  of  the  custom-house,  for  the  term  of  seven  years, 
what  arms  and  provisions  they  required  ;  and  their  children  were 
permitted  to  enjoy  the  same  privileges  and  liberties,  in  the  Amer- 
ican settlements,  that  Englishmen  had  at  home.  They  had  the 
right  to  search  for  mines,  to  coin  money,  and,  for  twenty-one 
years,  to  impose  duties,  on  vessels  trading  to  their  harbors,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  colony.  But,  after  this  period,  the  duty  was  to  be 
taken  for  the  king,  who  also  preserved  a  control  over  both  the 
councils  established  for  the  government  of  the  colony,  —  the  ope 
in  England  itself,  and  the  other  in  Virginia ;  a  control  inconsistent 


CHAP.  XX.]  HARDSHIPS    OF    THE    VIRGINIA   COLONY.  317 

with  those  liberties  which  the  colonists  subsequently  asserted  and 
secured. 

The  London  Company  promptly  applied- themselves  to  the  settle- 
ment of  their  territories ;  and,  on  the  19th  of  December,  1606,  a 
squadron  of  three  small  vessels  set  sail  for  the  new  world ;  and, 
on  May  13,  1607,  a  company  of  one  hundred  and  five  men, 
without  families,  disembarked  at  Jamestown.  This  was  the  first 
permanent  settlement  in  America  by  the  English.  But  great 
misfortunes  afflicted  them.  Before  September,  one  half  of  the 
colonists  had  perished,  and  the  other  half  were  suffering  from  fam- 
ine, dissension,  and  fear.  The  president,  Wingfield,  attempted  to 
embezzle  the  public  stores,  and  escape  to  the  West  Indies.  He 
was  supplanted  in  his  command  by  Ratcliffe,  a  man  without  ca- 
pacity. But  a  deliverer  was  raised  up  in  the  person  of  Captain 
John  Smith,  who  extricated  the  suffering  and  discontented  band 
from  the  evils  which  impended.  He  had  been  a  traveller  and  a 
warrior ;  had  visited  France,  Italy,  and  Egypt ;  fought  in  Holland 
and  Hungary  ;  was  taken  a  prisoner  of  war  in  Wallachia,  and  sent 
as  a  slave  to  Constantinople.  Removed  to  a  fortress  in  the  Crimea, 
and  subjected  to  the  hardest  tasks,  he  yet  contrived  to  escape,  and, 
after  many  perils,  reached  his  native  country.  But  greater  hard- 
ships and  dangers  awaited  him  in  the  new  world,  to  which  he  was 
uTipelled  by  his  adventurous  curiosity.  He  was  surprised  and  taken 
by  a  party  of  hostile  Indians,  when  on  a  tour  of  exploration,  and 
would  have  been  murdered,  had  it  not  been  for  his  remarkable 
presence  of  mind  and  singular  sagacity,  united  with  the  inter- 
cession of  the  famous  Pocahontas,  daughter  of  a  great  Indian 
chief,  from  whom  some  of  the  best  families  in  Virginia  are  de- 
scended. It  would  be  pleasant  to  detail  the  romantic  incidents  of 
this  brief  captivity ;  but  our  limits  forbid.  Smith,  when  he  returned 
to  Jamestown,  found  his  company  reduced  to  forty  men ;  and  they 
were  discouraged  and  disheartened.  Moreover,  they  were  a  differ- 
ent class  of  men  from  those  who  colonized  New  England.  They 
were  gentlemen  adventurers  connected  with  aristocratic  families, 
were  greedy  for  gold,  and  had  neither  the  fortitude  nor  the  habits 
requisite  for  success.  They  were  not  accustomed  to  labor,  at 
least  with  the  axe  and  plough.  Smith  earnestly  wrote  to  the 
council  of  the  company  in  England,  to  send  carpenters,  husband- 
27* 

4^ 


318  NEW   CHAKTER    OF    THE    LONDON    COMPANY.    [cHAP.  XI. 

men,  gardeners,  fishermen,  and  blacksmiths,  instead  of  "  vagabond 
gentlemen  and  goldsmiths."  But  he  had  to  organize  a  colony 
with  such  materials  as  avarice  or  adventurous  curiosity  had  sent  to 
America.  And,  in  spite  of  dissensions  and  natural  indolence,  he 
succeeded  in  placing  it  on  a  firm  foundation ;  surveyed  the  Chesa- 
peake Bay  to  the  Susquehannah,  and  explored  the  inlets  of  the 
majestic  Potomac.  But  he  was  not  permitted  to  complete  the 
work  which  he  had  so  beneficently  begun.  His  administration 
was  unacceptable  to  the  company  in  England,  who  cared  very 
little  for  the  welfare  of  the  infant  colony,  and  only  sought  a  profit- 
able investment  of  their  capital.  They  were  disappointed  that 
mines  of  gold  and  silver  had  not  been  discovered,  and  that  they 
themselves  had  not  become  enriched.  Even  the  substantial  wel- 
fare of  the  colony  displeased  them ;  for  this  diverted  attention  from 
the  pursuit  of  mineral  wealth. 

The  original  patentees,  therefore,  sought  to  strengthen  them- 
selves by  new  associates  and  a  new  charter.  And  a  new  charter 
was  accordingly  granted  to  twenty-one  peers,  ninety-eight  knights, 
and  a  great  number  of  doctors,  esquires,  gentlemen,  and  mer- 
chants. The  bounds  of  the  colony  were  enlarged,  the  council 
and  offices  in  Virginia  abolished,  and  the  company  in  Eng- 
land empowered  to  nominate  all  officers  in  the  colony.  Lord 
Delaware  was  appointed  governor  and  captain-general  of  the 
company,  and  a  squadron  of  nine  ships,  with  five  hundred  emi- 
grants were  sent  to  Virginia.  But  these  emigrants  consisted,  for  the 
most  part,  of  profligate  young  men,  whom  their  aristocratic  friends 
sent  away  to  screen  themselves  from  shame  ;  broken  down  gentle- 
men, too  lazy  to  work;  and  infamous  dependants  on  powerful 
families.  They  threw  the  whole  colony  into  confusion,  and  pro- 
voked, by  their  aggression  and  folly,  the  animosities  of  the 
Indians,  whom  Smith  had  appeased.  The  settlement  at  James- 
town was  abandoned  to  famine  and  confusion,  and  would  have 
been  deserted  had  it  not  been  for  the  timely  arrival  of  Lord  Dela- 
ware, with  ample  supplies  and  new  recruits.  His  administration 
was  wise  and  efficient,  and  he  succeeded  in  restoring  order,  if  he 
did  not  secure  the  wealth  which  was  anticipated. 

In  1612,  the  company  obtained  a  third  patent,  by  which  all  the 
islands  within  three  hundred  leagues  of  the  Virginia  shore  were 


CHAP.  XX.]  RAPID   COLONIZATION.  319 

granted  to  the  patentees,  and  by  which  a  portion  of  the  power 
heretofore  vested  in  the  council  was  transferred  to  the  whole  com- 
pany. The  political  rights  of  the  colonists  remained  the  same, 
but  they  acquired  gradually  peace  and  tranquillity.  Tobacco  was 
extensively  cultivated,  and  proved  a  more  fruitful  source  of  wealth 
than  mines  of  silver  or  gold. 

The  jealousy  of  arbitrary  power,  and  impatience  of  liberty, 
among  the  new  settlers,  induced  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  in  1619, 
to  reinstate  them  in  the  full  possession  of  the  rights  of  Englishmen  ; 
and  he  accordingly  convoked  a  Provincial  Assembly,  the  first  ever 
held  in  America,  which  consisted  of  the  governor,  the  council,  and 
a  number  of  burgesses,  elected  by  the  eleven  existing  boroughs 
of  the  colony.  The  deliberation  and  laws  of  this  infant  legisla- 
ture were  transmitted  to  England  for  approval ;  and  so  wise  and 
judicious  were  these,  that  the  company,  soon  after,  approved  and 
ratified  the  platform  of  what  gradually  ripened  into  the  American 
representative  system. 

The  guarantee  of  political  rights  led  to  a  rapid  colonization. 
"  Men  were  now  willing  to  regard  Virginia  as  their  home.  They 
fell  to  building  houses  and  planting  corn."  Women  were  induced 
to  leave  the  parent  country  to  become  the  wives  of  adventurous 
planters  ;  and,  during  the  space  of  three  years,  thirty-five  hundred 
persons,  of  both  sexes,  found  their  way  to  Virginia.  In  the  year 
1620,  a  Dutch  ship,  from  the  coast  of  Guinea,  arrived  in  James 
River,  and  landed  twenty  negroes  for  sale  ;  and,  as  they  were 
found  more  capable  of  enduring  fatigue,  in  a  southern  cHmate,  than 
the  Europeans,  they  were  continually  imported,  until  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  inhabitants  of  .Virginia  was  composed  of  slaves. 
Thus  was  introduced,  at  this  early  period,  that  lasting  system  of 
injustice  and  cruelty  which  has  proved  already  an  immeas\irable 
misfortune  to  the  country,  as  well  as  a  disgrace  to  the  institutions 
of  republican  liberty,  but  which  is  lamented,  in  many  instances,  by 
no  class  with  more  sincerity  than  by  those  who  live  by  the  produce 
of  slave  labor  itself. 

The  succeeding  year,  which  witnessed  the  importation  of  ne- 
groes, beheld  the  cultivation  of  tobacco,  which  before  the  introduc- 
tion of  cotton,  was  the  great  staple  of  southern  produce. 

In  1622,  the  long-suppressed  enmity  of  the  Indians  broke  out  ir. 


320  INDIAN    WARFARE.  [cHAP.    XX. 

a  savage  attempt  to  murder  the  whole  colony.  A  plot  had  been 
formed  by  which  all  the  English  settlements  were  to  be  attacked 
on  the  same  day,  and  at  the  same  hour.  The  conspiracy  was 
betrayed  by  a  friendly  Indian,  but  not  in  time  to  prevent  a  fearful 
massacre  of  three  hundred  and  forty-seven  persons,  among  whom 
were  some  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  respectable  inhabitants. 
Then  followed  all  the  evils  of  an  Indian  war,  and  the  settlements 
were  reduced  from  eighty  to  eight  plantations ;  and  it  was  not 
until  after  a  protracted  struggle  that  the  colonists  regained  their 
prosperity. 

Scarcely  had  hostilities  with  the  Indians  commenced,  before 
dissensions  among  the  company  in  England  led  to  a  quarrel  with 
the  king,  and  a  final  abrogation  of  their  charter.  The  company 
was  too  large  and  too  democratic.  The  members  wore  dissatisfied 
that  so  little  gain  had  been  derived  from  the  colony ;  and  moreover 
they  made  their  courts  or  convocations,  when  they  assembled  to 
discuss  colonial  matters,  the  scene  of  angry  political  debate. 
There  was  a  court  party  and  a  country  party,  each  inflamed 
with  violent  political  animosities.  The  country  party  was  the 
stronger,  and  soon  excited  the  jealousy  of  the  arbitrary  monarch, 
who  looked  upon  their  meetings  "  as  but  a  seminary  to  a  seditious 
parliament."  A  royal  board  of  commissioners  were  appointed  to 
examine  the  affairs  of  the  company,  who  reported  unfavorably ; 
and  the  king  therefore  ordered  the  company  to  surrender  its 
charter.  The  company  refused  to  obey  an  arbitrary  mandate; 
but  upon  its  refusal,  the  king  ordered  a  writ  of  quo  warranto  to 
be  issued,  and  the  Court  of  the  King's  Bench  decided,  of  course, 
in  favor  of  the  crown.  The  company  was  accordingly  dissolved. 
But  the  dissolution,  though  arbitrary,  operated  beneficially  on  the 
colony.  Of  all  cramping  institutions,  a  sovereign  company  of 
merchants  is  the  most  so,  since  they  seek  simply  commercial  gain, 
without  any  reference  to  the  political,  moral,  or  social  improve- 
ment of  the  people  whom  they  seek  to  control. 

Before  King  James  had  completed  his  scheme  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  colony,  he  died ;  and  Charles  I.  pursued  the  same 
arbitrary  policy  which  his  father  contemplated.  He  instituted  a 
government  which  combined  the  unlimited  prerogative  of  an  abso- 
lute prince  with  the  narrow  and  selfish  maxims  of  a  mercantile 


I 


CHAP.  XX.]         ^   GOVERNOR  HARVEY.  321 

corporation.  He  monopolized  the  profits  of  its  tra(ie,  and  em- 
powered the  new  governor,  whom  he  appointed,  to  exercise  his 
authority  with  the  most  undisguised  usurpation  of  those  rights 
which  the  colonists  had  heretofore  enjoyed.  Harvey's  disposition 
was  congenial  with  the  rapacious  and  cruel  system  which  he  pur- 
sued, and  he  acted  more  like  the  satrap  of  an  Eastern  prince 
than  the  representative  of  a  constitutional  monarch.  The  colonists 
remonstrated  and  complained  ;  but  their  appeals  to  the  mercy  and 
justice  of  the  king  were  disregarded,  and  Harvey  continued  his 
course  of  insolence  and  tyranny  until  that  famous  parliament  was 
assembled  which  rebelled  against  the  folly  and  government  of 
Charles.  In  1641,  a  new  and  upright  governor.  Sir  William 
Berkeley,  was  sent  to  Virginia,  and  the  old  provincial  liberties 
were  restored.  In  the  contest  between  the  king  and  parliament, 
Virginia  espoused  the  royal  cause.  When  the  parliament  had 
triumphed  over  the  king,  Virginia  was  made  to  feel  the  force  of 
republican  displeasure,  and  oppressive  restrictions  were  placed 
upon  the  trade  of  the  colony,  which  were  the  more  provoking  in 
view  of  the  indulgence  which  the  New  England  colonies  received 
from  the  protector.  A  revolt  ensued,  and  Sir  William  Berkeley 
was  forced  from  his  retirement,  and  made  to  assume  the  govern- 
ment of  the  rebellious  province.  Cromwell,  fortunately  for  Vir- 
ginia, but  unfortunately  for  the  world,  died  before  the  rebellion 
could  be  suppressed ;  and  when  Charles  II.  was  restored,  Virginia 
joyfully  returned  to  her  allegiance.  The  supremacy  of  the  Church 
of  England  was  established  by  law,  stipends  were  allowed  to  her 
ministers,  and  no  clergymen  were  permitted  to  exercise  their 
functions  but  such  as  held  to  the  supremacy  of  the  Church  of 
England. 

But  Charles  II.  was  as  incapable  as  his  father  of  pursuing 
a  generous  and  just  policy  to  the  colonies ;  and  parliament  itself 
looked  upon  the  colonies  as  a  source  of  profit  to  the  nation,  rather 
than  as  a  part  of  the  nation.  No  sooner  was  Charles  seated  on 
the  throne,  than  parliament  imposed  a  duty  of  five  per  cent,  on  all 
merchandise  exported  from,  or  imported  into,  any  of  the  domin- 
ions belonging  to  the  crown ;  and  the  famous  Navigation  Act  was 
passed,  which  ordained  that  no  commodities  should  be  imported 
into  any  of  the  British  settlements  but  in  vessels  built  in  England 

W 


322  ARBITRARY    POLICY    OF    CHARLES    II.  [cHAP.    XX, 

or  in  her  colonics ;  and  that  no  sugar,  tobacco,  cotton,  wool,  indigo, 
€Uid  some  other  articles  produced  in  the  colonies,  should  be  shipped 
from  them  to  any  other  country  but  England.  As  a  compensa- 
tion, the  colonies  were  permitted  the  exclusive  cultivation  of 
tobacco.  The  parliament,  soon  after,  in  1663,  passed  additional 
restrictions ;  and,  advancing,  step  by  step,  gradually  subjected  the 
colonies  to  a  most  oppressive  dependence  on  the  mother  country^ 
and  even  went  so  far  as  to  regulate  the  trade  of  the  several 
colonies  with  each  other.  This  system  of  monopoly  and  exclusion, 
of  course,  produced  indignation  and  disgust,  and  sowed  the  seeds 
of  ultimate  rebellion.  Indian  hostilities  were  added  to  provincial 
discontent,  and  even  the  horrors  of  civil  war  disturbed  the  prosperity 
of  the  colony.  An  ambitious  and  unprincipled  adventurer,  by  the 
name  of  Bacon,  succeeded  in  fomenting  dissension,  and  in  success- 
fully resisting  the  power  of  the  governor.  Providence  arrested  the 
career  of  the  rebel  in  the  moment  of  his  triumph  ;  and  his  sickness 
and  death  fortunately  dissipated  the  tempest  which  threatened  to 
be  fatal  to  the  peace  and  welfare  of  Virginia.  Berkeley,  on  the 
suppression  of  the  rebellion,  punished  the  offenders  with  a  severity 
which  ill  accorded  with  his  lenient  and  pacific  character.  His 
course  did  not  please  the  government  in  England,  and  he  was 
superseded  by  Colonel  Jeffries.  But  he  died  before  his  successor 
arrived.  A  succession  of  governors  administered  the  colony  as 
their  disposition  prompted,  some  of  whom  were  wise  and  able,  and 
others  tyrannical  and  rapacious. 

The  English  revolution  of  1688  produced  also  a  change  in  the 
administration  of  the  colony.  Its  dependence  on  the  personal 
character  of  the  sovereign  was  abolished,  and  its  chartered  liberties 
were  protected.  The  king  continued  to  appoint  the  royal  gov- 
ernor, and  the  parliament  continued  to  oppress  the  trade  of  the 
colonists ;  but  they,  on  the  whole,  enjoyed  the  rights  of  freemen, 
and  rapidly  advanced  in  wealth  and  prosperity.  On  the  accession 
of  William  and  Mary,  the  colony  contained  fifty  thousand  inhale- 
itants  and  forty-eight  parishes ;  and,  in  1676,  the  customs  on 
tobacco  alone  were  collected  in  England  to  the  amount  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand  pounds.  The  people  generally 
belonged  to  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  the  clergy  each  received, 
in  every  parish,  a  house  and  globe,  together  with  sixteen  thousand 


CHAP.  XX.]  SETTLEMENT    OF    NEW   ENGLAND.  323 

pounds  of  tobacco.  The  people  were  characterized  for  hospitality 
and  urbanity,  but  were  reproached  for  the  indolence  which  a 
residence  in  scattered  villages,  a  hot  climate,  and  negro  slavery 
must  almost  inevitably  lead  to.  Literature,  that  solace  of  the 
refined  and  luxurious  in  the  European  world,  was  but  imperfectly 
cultivated ;  nor  was  religion,  in  its  stem  and  lofty  developments, 
the  animating  principle  of  life,  as  in  the  New  England  settlements. 
But  the  people  of  Virginia  were  richer,  more  cultivated,  and  more 
aristocratic  than  the  Puritans,  more  refined  in  manners,  and  more 
pleasing  as  companions. 

The  settlements  in  New  England  were  made  by  a  very  different 
class  of  men  from  those  who  colonized  Virginia.  They  were  not 
adventurers  in  quest  of  gain ;  they  were  not  broken-down  gentle- 
men of  aristocratic  connections  ;  they  were  not  the  profligate  and 
dissolute  members  of  powerful  families.  They  were  Puritans ; 
they  belonged  to  the  middle  ranks  of  society ;  they  were  men  of 
stern  and  lofty  virtue,  of  invincible  energy,  and  hard  and  iron 
wills ;  they  detested  both  the  civil  and  religious  despotism  of  their 
times,  and  desired,  above  all  worldly  consideration,  the  liberty  of 
worshipping  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  consciences. 
They  were  chiefly  Independents  and  Calvinists,  among  whom 
religion  was  a  life,  and  not  a  dogma.  They  sought  savage  wilds, 
not  for  gain,  not  for  ease,  not  for  aggrandizement,  but  for  liberty 
of  conscience  ;  and,  for  the  sake  of  that  inestimable  privilege, 
they  were  ready  to  forego  all  the  comforts  and  elegances  of  civil- 
ized life,  and  cheerfully  meet  all  the  dangers  and  make  all  the  sac- 
rifices which  a  residence  among  savage  Indians,  and  in  a  cold  and 
inhospitable  climate,  necessarily  incurred. 

The  efforts  at  colonization  attempted  by  the  company  in  the 
west  of  England,  to  which  allusion  has  been  made,  signally  failed. 
God  did  not  design  that  New  England  should  be  settled  by  a  band 
of  commercial  adventurers.  A  colony  was  permanently  planted 
at  Plymouth,  within  the  limits  of  the  corporation,  of  forty  per- 
sons, to  whom  James  had  granted  enormous  powers,  and  a  belt 
of  country  from  the  fortieth  to  the  forty-eighth  degree  of  north 
latitude  in  width,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  in  length. 

On  the  5th  of  August,  1620,  the  Mayflower  and  the  Speedwell, 
freighted  with  the  first  Puritan  colony,  set  sail  from  Southan^pton. 


324  AHRIYAL   OF  THE  MAYFLOWER.  [cHAP.  XI. 

It  composed  a  band  of  religious  and  devoted  men,  with  their  wives 
and  children,  who  had  previously  sought  shelter  in  Holland  for  the 
enjoyment  of  their  religious  opinions.  The  smaller  vessel,  after 
a  trial  on  the  Atlantic,  was  found  incompetent  to  the  voyage,  and 
was  abandoned.  The  more  timid  were  allowed  to  disembark  at 
old  Plymouth.  One  hundred  and  one  resolute  souls  again  set  sail 
in  the  Mayflower,  for  the  unknown  wilderness,  with  all  its  count- 
less dangers  and  miseries.  No  common  worldly  interest  could 
have  sustained  their  souls.  The  first  adventurers  embarked  for 
Virginia,  without  women  or  children;  but  the  Puritans  made 
preparation  for  a  permanent  residence.  Providence,  against  their 
design,  guided  their  little  vessel  to  the  desolate  shores  of  the  most 
barren  part  of  Massachusetts.  On  the  9th  of  November,  it  was 
safely  moored  in  the  harbor  of  Cape  Cod.  On  the  1 1th,  the  colo- 
nists solemnly  bound  themselves  into  a  body  politic,  and  chose  John 
Carver  for  their  governor.  On  the  1 1th  of  December,  (O.  S.,)  after 
protracted  perils  and  sufferings,  this  little  company  landed  on  Plym- 
outh Rock.  Before  the  opening  spring,  more  than  half  the  colony 
had  perished  from  privation,  fatigue,  and  suffering,  among  whom 
was  the  governor  himself.  In  the  autumn,  their  numbers  were 
recruited ;  but  all  the  miseries  of  famine  remained.  They  lived 
together  as  a  community ;  but,  for  three  or  four  months  together, 
they  had  no  corn  whatever.  In  the  spring  of  1623,  each  family 
planted  for  itself,  and  land  was  assigned  to  each  person  in  perpetual 
fee.  The  needy  and  defenceless  colonists  were  fortunately  pre- 
served from  the  hostility  of  the  natives,  since  a  famine  had  swept 
away  the  more  dangerous  of  their  savage  neighbors ;  nor  did  hos- 
tilities commence  for  several  years.  God  protected  the  Pilgrims,  in 
their  weakness,  from  the  murderous  tomahawk,  and  from  the  perils 
of  the  vnlderness.  They  suffered,  but  they  existed.  Their  numbers 
slowly  increased,  but  they  were  all  Puritans,  —  were  just  the  men 
to  colonize  the  land,  and  lay  the  foundation  of  a  great  empire. 
From  the  beginning,  a  strict  democracy  existed,  and  all  enjoyed 
ample  exemption  from  the  trammels  of  arbitrary  power.  No 
king  took  cognizance  of  their  existence,  or  imposed  upon  them  a- 
despotic  governor.  They  appointed  their  own  rulers,  and  those 
rulers  governed  in  the  fear  of  God.  Township  independence 
existed  from  the  first ;  and  this  is  the  nursery  and  the  genius  of 


CHAP.  XX.]  SETTLEMENT    OF    NEW   HAMPSHIRE.  325 

American  institutions.  The  Plymouth  colony  was  a  self-constituted 
democracy ;  but  it  was  composed  of  Englishmen,  who  loved  their 
native  land,  and,  while  they  sought  unrestrained  freedom,  did  not 
disdain  dependence  on  the  mother  country,  and  a  proper  connection 
with  the  English  government.  They  could  not  obtain  a  royal 
charter  from  the  king ;  but  the  Grand  Council  of  Plymouth  — 
a  new  company,  to  which  James  had  given  the  privileges  of  the 
old  one  —  granted  all  the  privileges  which  the  colonists  desired. 
They  were  too  insignificant  to  attract  much  attention  from  the 
government,  or  excite  the  jealousy  of  a  great  corporation. 

Unobtrusive  and  unfettered,  the  colony  slowly  spread.  But 
wherever  it  spread,  it  took  root.  It  was  a  tree  which  Providence 
planted  for  all  generations.  It  was  established  upon  a  rock.  It 
was  a  branch  of  the  true  church,  which  was  destined  to  defj- 
storms  and  changes,  because  its  strength  was  in  the  Lord. 

But  all  parts  of  New  England  were  not,  at  first,  settled  by  Puri 
tan  Pilgrims,  or  from  motives  of  religion  merely.  The  council  of 
Plymouth  issued  grants  of  domains  to  various  adventurers,  who 
were  animated  by  the  spirit  of  gain.  John  Mason  received  a 
patent  for  what  is  now  the  state  of  New  Hampshire.  Portsmouth 
and  Dover  had  an  existence  as  early  as  1623.  Gorges  obtained  a 
grant  of  the  whole  district  between  the  Piscataqua  and  the  Kenne- 
bec. Saco,  in  1636,  contained  one  hundred  and  fifty  people.  But 
the  settlements  in  New  Hampshire  and  Maine,  having  disappointed 
the  expectations  of  the  patentees  in  regard  to  emolument  and  profit, 
were  not  very  flourishing. 

In  the  mean  time,  a  new  company  of  Puritans  was  formed  for 
the  settlement  of  the  country  around  Boston.  The  company  ob- 
tained a  royal  charter,  (1629,)  which  constituted  them  a  body  pol- 
itic, by  the  name  of  the  Governor  and  Company  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Bay.  It  conferred  on  the  colonists  the  rights  of  English 
subjects,  although  it  did  not  technically  concede  freedom  of  reli- 
gious worship,  or  the  privilege  of  self-government.  The  main  body 
of  the  colonists  settled  in  Salem.  They  were  a  band  of  devout 
j^  and  lofty  characters  ;  Calvinists  in  their  religious  creed,  and  repub- 
licans in  their  political  opinions.  Strict  independency  was  the 
basis  and  the  genius  of  their  church.  It  was  self-constituted,  and 
all  'ts  officers  were  elected  by  the  members. 
28 


326  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  COLONY.       [cHAP.  XX 

The  charter  of  the  company  had  been  granted  to  a  corporation 
consisting  chiefly  of  merchants  resident  in  London,  and  was  more 
liberal  than  could  have  been  expected  from  so  bigoted  and  zealous 
a  king  as  Charles  I.  If  it  did  not  directly  concede  the  rights  of 
conscience,  it  seemed  to  be  silent  respecting  them  ;  and  the  colonists 
were  left  to  the  unrestricted  enjoyment  of  their  religious  and  civil 
liberties.  The  intolerance  and  rigor  of  Archbishop  Laud  caused 
this  new  colony  to  be  rapidly  settled ;  and,  as  many  distinguished 
men  desired  to  emigrate,  they  sought  and  secured,  from  the  com- 
pany in  England,  a  transfer  of  all  the  powers  of  government  to 
the  actual  settlers  in  America.  By  this  singular  transaction,  the 
municipal  rights  and  privileges  of  the  colonists  were  established  on 
a  firm  foundation. 

In  1630,  not  far  from  fifteen  hundred  persons,  with  Winthrop  as 
their  leader  and  governor,  emigrated  to  the  new  world,  and  settled 
first  in  Charlestown,  and  afterwards  in  Boston.  In  accordance 
with  the  charter  which  gave  them  such  unexpected  privileges, 
a  General  Court  was  assembled,  to  settle  the  government.  But 
the  privilege  of  the  elective  franchise  was  given  only  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  and  each  church  was  formed  after  the  model  of 
the  one  in  Salem.  It  cannot  be  said  that  a  strict  democracy  was 
established,  since  church  membership  was  the  condition  of  the  full 
enjoyment  of  political  rights.  But  if  the  constitution  was  some- 
what aristocratic  and  exclusive,  aristocracy  was  not  based  on  wealth 
or  intellect.  The  Calvinists  of  Massachusetts  recognized  a  gov- 
ernment of  the  elect,  —  a  sort  of  theocracy,  in  which  only  the 
religious,  or  those  who  professed  to  be  so,  and  were  admitted  to  be 
so,  had  a  right  to  rule.  This  was  the  notion  of  Cromwell  himself, 
the  great  idol  and  representative  of  the  Independents,  who  fancied 
that  the  government  of  England  should  be  intrusted  only  to  those  who 
were  capable  of  saving  England,  and  were  worthy  to  rule  England. 
As  his  party  constituted,  in  his  eyes,  this  elect  body,  and  was,  in 
reality,  the  best  party,  —  composed  of  men  who  feared  God,  and 
were  willing  to  be  ruled  by  his  laws,  —  therefore  his  party,  as  he 
supposed,  had  a  right  to  overturn  thrones,  and  establish  a  new 
theocracy  on  earth. 

This  notion  was  a  delusion  in  England,  and  proved  fatal  to  all 
those  who  were  blinded  by  it.     Not  so  in  America.     Amid  the 


CHAP.  XX.]  DOCTRINES    OF    THE    PURITANS.  327 

unbroken  forests  of  New  England,  a  colony  of  men  was  planted 
who  generally  recognized  the  principles  of  Cromwell ;  and  one  of 
the  best  governments  the  world  has  seen  controlled  the  turbuleni, 
rewarded  the  upright,  and  protected  the  rights  and  property  of  all 
classes  with  almost  paternal  fidelity  and  justice.  The  colony,  how- 
ever,—  such  is  the  weakness  of  man,  such  the  degeneracy  of  his 
nature,  —  was  doomed  to  dissension.  Bigotry,  from  which  no 
communities  or  individuals  are  fully  free,  drove  some  of  the  best 
men  from  the  limits  of  the  colony.  Roger  Williams,  a  minister  in 
Salem,  and  one  of  the  most  worthy  and  enlightened  men  of  his 
age,  sought  shelter  from  the  persecution  of  his  brethren  amid  the 
wilds  on  Narragansett  Bay.  In  June,  1636,  the  lawgiver  of  Rhode 
Island,  with  five  companions,  embarked  in  an  Indian  canoe,  and, 
sailing  down  the  river,  landed  near  a  spring,  on  a  sheltered  spot, 
which  he  called  Providence.  He  was  gradually  joined  by  others, 
who  sympathized  with  his  tolerant  spirit  and  enlightened  views,  and 
the  colony  of  Rhode  Island  became  an  asylum  for  the  persecuted 
for  many  years.  And  there  were  many  such.  The  Puritans  were 
too  earnest  to  live  in  harmony  with  those  who  differed  from  them 
on  great  religious  questions ;  and  a  difference  of  views  must  have 
been  expected  among  men  so  intellectual,  so  acute,  and  so  fearless 
in  speculation.  How  could  dissenters  from  prevailing  opinions 
fail  to  arise  }  —  mystics,  fanatics,  and  heretics  ?  The  idea  of 
special  divine  illumination  —  ever  the  prevailing  source  of  fanati- 
cism, in  all  ages  and  countries  —  led  astray  some  ;  and  the  desire 
for  greater  spiritual  liberty  animated  others.  Anne  Hutchinson 
adopted  substantially  the  doctrine  of  George  Fox,  that  the  spirit  of 
God  illuminates  believers,  independently  of  his  written  word ;  and 
she  communicated  her  views  to  many  others,  who  became,  like 
her,  arrogant  and  conceited,  in  spite  of  their  many  excellent  qual- 
ities. Harry  Vane,  the  governor,  was  among  the  number.  But 
there  was  no  reasoning  with  fanatics,  who  fancied  themselves 
especially  inspired ;  and,  as  they  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  col- 
ony, the  leaders  were  expelled.  Vane  himself  returned  to  England, 
to  mingle  in  scenes  more  congenial  with  his  excellent  but  excitable 
temper.  In  England,  this  illustrious  friend  of  Milton  greatly  dis- 
tinguished himself  for  his  efforts  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  and  evei 
remained  its  consistent  advocate  ;  opposing  equally  the  tyranny  of 


328  PEQUOD    WAR.  [chap.  XX. 

the  king,  and  tlie  encroachments  of  those  who  overturned  his 
throne. 

Connecticut,  though  assigned  to  a  company  in  England,  was 
early  colonized  by  a  detachment  of  Pilgrims  from  Massachusetts. 
In  1635,  settlements  were  made  at  Hartford,  Windsor,  and  Weth- 
ersfield.  The  following  year,  the  excellent  and  illustrious  Hooker 
led  a  company  of  one  hundred  persons  through  the  forests  to  the 
delightful  banks  of  the  Connecticut,  whose  rich  alluvial  soil  prom- 
ised an  easier  support  than  the  hard  and  stony  land  in  the  vicinity 
of  Boston.  They  were  scarcely  settled  before  the  Pequod  war 
commenced,  which  involved  all  the  colonies  in  a  desperate  and 
bloody  contest  with  the  Indians.  But  the  Pequods  were  no  match 
for  Europeans,  especially  without  firearms ;  and,  in  1637,  the 
tribe  was  nearly  annihilated.  The  energy  and  severity  exercised 
by  the  colonists,  fighting  for  their  homes,  struck  awe  in  the  minds 
of  the  savages ;  and  it  was  long  before  they  had  the  courage  to 
rally  a  second  time.  The  Puritans  had  the  spirit  of  Cromwell, 
and  never  hesitated  to  act  with  intrepid  boldness  and  courage, 
when  the  necessity  was  laid  upon  them.  They  were  no  advocates 
of  half  measures.  Their  subsequent  security  and  growth  are,  in 
no  slight  degree,  to  be  traced  to  these  rigorous  measures, —  meas- 
ures which,  in  these  times,  are  sometimes  denounced  as  too  severe, 
but  the  wisdom  of  which  can  scarcely  be  questioned  when  the 
results  are  considered.  All  the  great  masters  of  war,  and  of  war 
with  barbarians,  have  pursued  a  policy  of  unmitigated  severity ; 
and  when  a  temporizing  or  timid  course  has  been  adopted  with 
men  incapable  of  being  governed  by  reason,  and  animated  by  sav- 
age passions,  that  course  has  failed. 

After  the  various  colonies  were  well  established  in  New  Eng- 
land, and  more  than  twenty  thousand  had  emigrated  from  the 
mother  country,  they  were  no  longer  regarded  with  benevolent 
interest  by  the  king  or  his  ministers.  The  Grand  Council  of 
Plymouth  surrendered  its  charter  to  the  king,  and  a  writ  of  quo 
warranto  was  issued  against  the  Massachusetts  colony.  But  the 
Puritans  refused  to  surrender  their  charter,  and  prepared  for  resist- 
ance against  the  malignant  scheme  of  Strafford  and  Laud.  Before 
they  could  be  carried  into  execution,  the  struggle  between  the  king 
and  the  Long  Parliament  had  commenced.     The  less  resistance 


CHAP.  XX.]  UNION  OF  THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COLONIES.        329 

was  forgotten  in  the  greater.  The  colonies  escaped  the  vengeance 
of  a  bigoted  government.  When  the  parliament  triumphed,  they 
were  especially  favored,  and  gradually  acquired  wealth  and  power. 
The  ditferent  colonies  formed  a  confederation  to  protect  themselves 
against  the  Dutch  and  French  on  the  one  side,  and  the  Indians  on 
the  other.  And  this  happily  continued  for  half  a  century,  and 
was  productive  of  very  important  results.  But  the  several  colonies 
continued  to  make  laws  for  their  own  people,  to  repress  anarchy, 
and  favor  the  cause  of  religion  and  unity.  They  did  not  always 
exhibit  a  liberal  and  enlightened  policy.  They  destroyed  witches ; 
persecuted  the  Baptists  and  Quakers,  and  excluded  them  from 
their  settlements.  But,  with  the  exception  of  religious  persecu- 
tion, their  legislation  was  wise,  and  their  general  conduct  was  vir- 
tuous. They  encouraged  schools,  and  founded  the  University  of 
Cambridge.  They  preserved  the  various  peculiarities  of  Puritan- 
ism in  regard  to  amusements,  to  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath, 
and  to  antipathy  to  any  thing  which  reminded  them  of  Rome,  or 
even  of  the  Church  of  England.  But  Puritanism  was  not  an 
odious  crust,  a  form,  a  dogma.  It  was  a  life,  a  reality;  and 
was  not  unfavorable  to  the  development  of  the  most  beautiful 
virtues  of  charity  and  benevolence,  in  a  certain  sphere.  It  was 
not  a  mere  traditional  Puritanism,  which  clings  with  disgusting 
tenacity  to  a  form,  when  the  spirit  of  love  has  departed ;  but^  it 
was  a  harmonious  development  of  living  virtues,  which  sympa- 
thized with  education,  with  freedom,  and  with  progress ;  which 
united  men  together  by  the  bond  of  Christian  love,  and  incited 
them  to  deeds  of  active  benevolence  and  intrepid  moral  heroism. 
Nor  did  the  Puritan  Pilgrims  persecute  those  who  did  not  harmo- 
nize with  them  in  order  to  punish  them,  but  simply  to  protect  them- 
selves, and  to  preserve  in  their  midst,  and  in  their  original  purity, 
those  institutions  and  those  rights,  for  the  possession  of  which  they 
left  their  beloved  native  land  for  a  savage  wilderness,  with  its 
countless  perils  and  miseries.  But  their  hardships  and  afflictions 
were  not  of  long  continuance.  With  energy,  industry,  frugality, 
and  love,  they  soon  obtained  security,  comfort,  and  health.  And 
It  is  no  vain  and  idle  imagination  which  assigns  to  those  years, 
which  succeeded  the  successful  planting  of  the  colony,  the  period 
28* 


330  WILLUM   PENN.  [cHAP.  IX. 

of  the  greatest  happiness  and  virtue  which  New  E  iglaiid  has  ever 
enjoyed. 

Equally  fortunate  with  the  Puritans  were  those  interesting 
people  who  settled  Pennsylvania.  If  the  Quakers  were  persecuted 
in  the  mother  country  and  in  New  England,  they  found  a  shelter 
on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware.  There  they  obtained  and  enjoyed 
that  freedom  of  religious  worship  which  had  been  denied  to  the 
great  founder  of  the  sect,  and  which  had  evi*n  been  withheld 
from  tliem  by  men  who  had  struggled  with  tt».'m  for  the  attain- 
ment of  this  exalted  privilege. 

In  1677,  the  Quakers  obtained  a  charter  wUch  recognized  the 
principle  of  democratic  equality  in  the  settlei/ients  in  West  Jer- 
.sey ;  and  in  1680,  William  Penn  received  from  the  king,  who 
was  indebted  to  his  father,  a  grant  of  an  ex/tensive  territory, 
which  was  called  Pennsylvania^  of  which  he  was  constituted  abso- 
lute proprietary.  He  also  received  a  liberal  charter,  and  gave  his 
people  privileges  and  a  code  of  laws  which  exceeded  in  liberality 
any  that  had  as  yet  been  bestowed  on  any  community.  In  1682, 
he  landed  at  Newcastle,  and,  soon  after,  at  his  new  city  on  the 
banks  of  the  Delaware,  under  the  shelter  of  a  large,  spreading 
elm,  made  his  immortal  treaty  with  the  Indians.  He  proclaimed 
to  the  Indian,  heretofore  deemed  a  foe  never  to  be  appeased, 
the  principles  of  love  which  animated  Fox,  and  which  "  Mary 
Ffsher  had  borne  to  the  Grand  Turk."  "  We  meet,"  said  the 
lawgiver,  "  on  the  broad  pathway  of  good  faith  and  good  will.  No 
advantage  shall  be  taken  on  either  side,  but  all  shall  be  openness 
and  love.  I  will  not  call  you  children,  for  parents  sometimes 
chide  their  children  too  severely ;  nor  brothers  only,  for  brothers 
differ.  The  friendship  between  me  and  you  I  will  not  compare  to 
a  chain,  for  that  the  rains  might  rust,  or  the  falling  tree  might 
break.  We  are  the  same  as  if  one  man's  body  were  to  be  divided 
into  two  parts ;  we  are  all  one  flesh  and  blood." 

Such  were  the  sublime  doctrines  which  the  illustrious  founder 
of  Pennsylvania  declared  to  the  Indians,  and  which  he  made  the 
basis  of  his  government,  and  the  rule  of  his  intercourse  with  his 
own  people  and  with  savage  tribes.  These  doctrines  were  already 
instilled  into  the  minds  of  the  settlers,  and  they  also  found  a  response 
in  the  souls  of  the  Indians.     The  sons  of  the  wilderness   long 


CHAP.  XX.]  SETTLEMENT    OF    NEW    YORK.  331 

cherished  the  recollection  of  the  covenant,  and  never  forgot  its 
principles.  While  all  the  other  settlements  of  the  Europeans  were 
suffering  from  the  hostility  of  the  red  man,  Pennsylvania  alone 
enjoyed  repose.  "  Not  a  drop  of  Quaker  blood  was  ever  shed  by 
an  Indian." 

William  Penn,  although  the  absolute  proprietor  of  a  tract  of 
country  which  was  nearly  equal  in  extent  to  England,  sought  no 
revenue  and  no  arbitrary  power.  He  gave  to  the  settlers  the  right 
to  choose  their  own  magistrates,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest, 
and  only  reserved  to  himself  the  power  to  veto  the  bills  of  the 
council  —  the  privilege  which  our  democracies  still  allow  to  their 
governors. 

Such  a  colony  as  he  instituted  could  not  but  prosper.  Its  rising 
glories  were  proclaimed  in  every  country  of  Europe,  and  the 
needy  and  distressed  of  all  countries  sought  this  realized  Utopia. 
In  two  years  after  Philadelphia  was  settled,  it  contained  six  hun- 
dred houses.  Peace  was  uninterrupted,  and  the  settlement  spread 
more  rapidly  than  in  any  other  part  of  North  America. 

New  Jersey,  Maryland,  North  and  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia, 
were  all  colonized  by  the  English,  shortly  after  the  settlement  of 
Virginia  and  New  England,  either  by  emigration  from  England,  or 
from  the  other  colonies.  But  there  was  nothing  in  their  early  history 
sufficiently  marked  to  warrant  a  more  extended  sketch.  In  general, 
the  Southern  States  were  colonized  by  men  who  had  not  the  religious 
elevation  of  the  Puritans,  nor  the  living  charity  of  the  Quakers. 
But  their  characters  improved  by  encountering  the  evils  to  which 
they  were  subjected,  and  they  became  gradually  imbued  with  those 
})rinciples  which  in  after  times  secured  independence  and  union. 

The  settlement  of  New  York,  however,  merits  a  passing  notice, 
since  it  was  colonized  by  emigrants  from  Holland,  which  was  by 
far  the  most  flourishing  commercial  state  of  Europe  in  the  seven- 
teenth century.  The  Hudson  River  had  been  discovered  ( 1609) 
by  an  Englishman,  whose  name  it  bears,  but  who  was  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Dutch  East  India  Company.  The  right  of  possession 
of  the  country  around  it  was  therefore  claimed  by  the  United 
Provinces,  and  an  association  of  Dutch  merchants  fitted  out  a  ship 
to  trade  with  the  Indians.  In  1614,  a  rude  fort  was  erected  on 
Manhattan  Island,  and,  the  next  year,  the  settlement  at  Albany 


332  CONQUEST   OF   NEW   NETHERLANDS.  [cHAP.  XX. 

commenced,  chiefly  with  a  view  of  trading  with  the  Indians.  In 
1623,  New  Amsterdam,  now  New  York,  was  built  for  the  purpose 
of  colonization,  and  extensive  territories  were  appropriated  by  the 
Dutch  for  the  rising  colony.  This  appropriation  involved  them  in 
constant  contention  witli  the  English,  as  well  as  with  the  Indians ; 
nor  was  there  the  enjoyment  of  political  privileges  by  the  people, 
as  in  the  New  England  colonies.  The  settlements  resembled 
lordships  in  the  Netherlands,  and  every  one  who  planted  a  colony 
of  fifty  souls,  possessed  the  absolute  property  of  the  lands  he 
colonized,  and  became  Patroon,  or  Lord  of  the  Manor.  Very  little 
attention  was  given  to  education,  and  the  colonists  were  not  per- 
mitted to  make  cotton,  woollen,  or  linen  cloth,  for  fear  of  injury  to 
the  monopolists  of  the  Dutch  manufactures.  The  province  had  no 
popular  freedom,  and  no  public  spirit.  The  poor  were  numerous, 
and  the  people  were  disinclined  to  make  proper  provision  for  their 
own  protection. 

But  the  colony  of  the  New  Netherlands  was  not  destined  to 
remain  under  the  government  of  the  Dutch  West  India  Company. 
It  was  conquered  by  the  English  in  1664,  and  the  conquerors 
promised  security  to  the  customs,  the  religion,  the  institutions,  and 
the  possessions  of  the  Dutch  ;  and  this  promise  was  observed.  In 
1673,  the  colony  was  reconquered,  but  finally,  in  1674,  was  ceded 
to  the  English,  and  the  brother  of  Charles  II.  resumed  his  pos- 
session and  government  of  New  York,  and  delegated  his  power 
to  Colonel  Nichols,  who  ruled  with  wisdom  and  humanity.  But  the 
old  Dutch  Governor  Stuyvesant  remained  in  the  city  over  whicli 
he  had  so  honorably  presided,  and  prolonged  the  empire  of  Dutch 
manners,  if  not  of  Dutch  arms.  The  banks  of  the  Hudson  con- 
tinued also  to  be  peopled  by  the  countrymen  of  the  original  colo- 
nists, who  long  preserved  the  language,  customs,  and  religion  of 
Holland.  New  York,  nevertheless,  was  a  royal  province,  and  the 
administration  was  frequently  intrusted  to  rapacious,  unprincipled, 
and  arbitrary  governors. 

Thus  were  the  various  states  which  border  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean 
colonized,  in  which  English  laws,  institutions,  and  language  were 
destined  to  be  perpetuated.  In  1688,  the  various  colonies,  of  which 
there  were  twelve,  contained  about  two  hundred  thousand  inhabit- 
ants ;  an4  all  of  these  were  Protestants  ;  all  cherished  the  principles 


CHAP.  XX.]  DISCOVERY    OF   THE    ST.    LAWRENCE.  333 

of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  and  sought,  by  industry,  frugality, 
and  patience,  to  secure  independence  and  prosperity.  From  that 
period  to  this,  no  nation  has  grown  more  rapidly ;  no  one  has  ever 
developed  more  surprising  energies ;  no  one  has  ever  enjoyed 
greater  social,  political,  and  religious  privileges. 

But  the  shores  of  North  America  were  not  colonized  merely  by 
the  English.  On  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Mississippi, 
another  body  of  colonists  arrived,  and  introduced  customs  and 
institutions  equally  foreign  to  those  of  the  English  and  Spaniards. 
The  French  settlements  in  Canada  and  Louisiana  are  now  to  be 
considered. 

Within  seven  years  from  the  discovery  of  the  continent,  the 
fisheries  of  Newfoundland  were  known  to  French  adventurers. 
The  St.  Lawrence  was  explored  in  1506,  and  plans  of  colonization 
were  formed  in  1518.  In  1534,  James  Cartier,  a  native  of  St. 
Malo,  sailed  up  the  River  St.  Lawrence ;  but  the  severity  of  the 
climate  in  winter  prevented  an  immediate  setdement.  It  was  not 
until  1603  that  any  permanent  colonization  was  commenced. 
Quebec  was  then  selected  by  Samuel  Champlain,  the  father  of  the 
French  settlements  in  Canada,  as  the  site  for  a  fort.  In  1604,  a 
charter  was  given,  by  Henry  IV.,  to  an  eminent  Calvinist,  De 
Monts,  which  gave  him  the  sovereignty  of  Acadia,  a  tract  em- 
braced between  the  fortieth  and  forty-sixth  degrees  of  north  latitude. 
The  Huguenot  emigrants  were  to  enjoy  their  religion,  the  monopoly 
of  the  fur  trade,  and  the  exclusive  control  of  the  soil.  They 
arrived  at  Nova  Scotia  the  same  year,  and  settled  in  Port  Royal. 

In  1608,  Quebec  was  settled  by  Champlain,  who  aimed  at  the 
glory  of  founding  a  state  ;  and  in  1627  he  succeeded  in  establish- 
ing the  authority  of  the  French  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 
But  Champlain  was  also  a  zealous  Catholic,  and  esteemed  the 
salvation  of  a  soul  more  than  the  conquest  of  a  kingdom.  He 
therefore  selected  Franciscan  monks  to  effect  the  conversion  of 
the  Indians.  But  they  were  soon  supplanted  by  the  Jesuits,  who, 
patronized  by  the  government  in  France,  soon  made  the  new 
world  the  scene  of  their  strange  activity. 

At  no  period  and  in  no  country  were  Jesuit  missionaiies  more 
untiring  laborers  than  amid  the  forests  of  North  America.  With 
the  crucifix  in  their  hands,  they  wandered  about  with  savage  tribes, 


334  JESUIT   MISSIONARIES.  [CHAP.  XX. 

imd  by  unparalleled  labors  of  charity  and  benevolence,  sought  to 
convert  them  to  the  Christianity  of  Rome.  As  early  as  1635,  a 
college  and  a  hospital  were  founded,  by  munificent  patrons  in 
France,  for  the  benefit  of  all  the  tribes  of  red  men  from  the 
waters  of  Lake  Superior  to  the  shores  of  the  Kennebec.  In  1641, 
Montreal,  intended  as  a  general  rendezvous  for  converted  Indians, 
was  occupied,  and  soon  became  the  most  important  station  in 
Canada,  next  to  the  fortress  of  Quebec.  Before  Eliot  had  preached 
to  the  Indians  around  Boston,  the  intrepid  missionaries  of  the  Jesuits 
had  explored  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior,  had  penetrated  to  the 
Falls  of  St.  Mary's,  and  had  visited  the  Chippeways,  the  Hurons, 
the  Iroquois,  and  the  Mohawks.  Soon  after,  they  approached  the 
Dutch  settlements  on  the  Hudson,  explored  the  sources  of  the 
Mississippi,  examined  its  various  tributary  streams,  and  floated 
down  its  mighty  waters  to  its  mouth.  The  missionaries  claimed 
the  territories  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  for  the  king  of  France,  and 
in  1684,  Louisiana  was  colonized  by  Frenchmen.  The  indefati- 
gable La  Salle,  after  having  explored  the  Mississippi,  from  the 
Falls  of  St.  Anthony  to  the  sea,  was  assassinated  by  one  of  his 
envious  followers,  but  not  until  he  had  earned  the  immortal  fame 
of  being  the  father  of  western  colonization. 

Thus  were  the  North  American  settlements  effected.  In  1688, 
England  possessed  those  colonies  which  border  on  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  from  Maine  to  Georgia.  The  French  possessed  Nova 
Scotia,  Canada,  Louisiana,  and  claimed  the  countries  bordering  on 
the  Mississippi  and  its  branches,  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  Lake 
Superior,  and  also  the  territories  around  the  great  lakes. 

A  mutual  jealousy,  as  was  to  be  expected,  sprung  up  between 
France  and  England  respecting  their  colonial  possessions.  Both 
kingdoms  aimed  at  the  sovereignty  of  North  America.  The 
French  were  entitled,  perhaps,  by  right  of  discovery,  to  the  greater 
extent  of  territory ;  but  their  colonies  were  very  unequal  to  those 
of  the  English  in  respect  to  numbers,  and  still  more  so  in  moral 
elevation  and  intellectual  culture. 

But  Louis  XIV.,  then  in  the  height  of  his  power,  meditated 
the  complete  subjection  of  the  English  settlements.  The  French 
allied  themselves  with  the  Indians,  and  savage  wars  were  the  re- 
sult.    The  Mohawks  and  other  tribes,  encouraged  by  the  French, 


CHAP.  XX.]   PROSPERITY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  COLONIES.         335 

committed  fearful  massacres  at  Deerfield  and  Haverhill,  and  the 
English  settlers  were  kept  in  a  state  of  constant  alarm  and  fear. 
By  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  in  1713,  the  colonists  obtained  peace  and 
considerable  accession  of  territory.  In  1720,  John  Law  proposed 
his  celebrated  financial  scheme  to  the  prince  regent  of  France, 
and  the  Mississippi  Company  was  chartered,  and  Louisiana  colo- 
nized.  Much  profit  was  expected  to  be  derived  from  this  company. 
It  will  be  seen,  in  another  chapter,  how  miserably  it  failed.  Il 
was  based  on  wrong  foundations,  and  the  project  of  deriving  wealth 
from  the  colonies  came  to  nought ;  nor  did  it  result  in  a  rapid 
colonization. 

Meanwhile  the  English  colonies  advanced  in  wealth,  numbers, 
and  political  importance,  and  attracted  the  notice  of  the  English 
government.  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  in  1711,  was  solicited  to  tax 
the  colonies ;  but  he  nobly  rejected  the  proposal.  He  encouraged 
trade  to  the  utmost  latitude,  and  tribute  was  only  levied  by  means 
of  consumption  of  British  manufactures.  But  restrictions  were 
subsequently  imposed  on  colonial  enterprise,  which  led  to  collisions 
between  the  colonies  and  the  mother  country.  The  Southern 
colonies  were  more  favored  than  the  Northern,  but  all  of  them  were 
regarded  with  the  view  of  promoting  the  peculiar  interests  of 
Great  Britain.  Other  subjects  of  dispute  also  arose  ;  but,  never- 
theless, the  colonies,  especially  those  of  New  England,  made  rapid 
strides.  There  was  a  general  diffusion  of  knowledge,  the  laws 
were  well  observed,  and  the  ministers  of  religion  were  an  honor 
to  their  sacred  calling.  The  earth  was  subdued,  and  replenished 
with  a  hardy  and  religious  set  of  men.  Sentiments  of  patriotism 
and  independence  were  ardently  cherished.  The  people  were 
trained  to  protect  themselves  ;  and,  in  their  town  meetings,  lei med 
to  discuss  political  questions,  and  to  understand  political  rights. 
Some  ecclesiastical  controversies  disturbed  the  peace  of  parishes 
and  communities,  but  did  not  retard  the  general  prosperity.  Some 
great  lights  also  appeared.  David  Brainerd  performed  labors  cf 
disinterestedness  and  enlightened  piety,  which  have  never  been 
surpassed,  and  never  equalled,  even  in  zeal  and  activity,  except 
by  those  of  the  earlier  Jesuits.  Jonathan  Edwards  stamped  his 
genius  on  the  whole  character  of  New  England  theology,  and 
won  the  highest  honor  as  a  metaphysician,  even  from  European 


•'^6  FRENCH   ENCROACHMENTS.  [CHAP.  XX. 

admirers.  His  treatise  on  the  Freedom  of  the  Will  has  secured 
the  praises  of  philosophers  and  divines  of  all  sects  and  parties, 
from  Hume  to  Chalmers,  and  can  "  never  be  attentively  perused 
without  a  sentiment  of  admiration  at  the  strength  and  stretch  of 
the  human  understanding."  Benjamin  Franklin  also  had  arisen  : 
he  had  not,  at  this  early  epoch,  distinguished  himself  for  philo- 
sophical discoveries ;  but  he  had  attracted  attention  as  the  editor 
of  a  newspaper,  in  which  he  fearlessly  defended  freedom  of  speech 
and  the  great  rights  of  the  people.  But  greater  than  Franklin, 
greater  than  any  hero  which  modern  history  has  commemorated, 
was  that  young  Virginia  planter,  who  was  then  watching,  with 
great  solicitude,  the  interests  and  glory  of  his  country,  and 
preparing  himself  for  the  great  conflicts  which  have  given  him 
immortality. 

The  growth  of  the  colonies,  and  their  great  importance  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Europeans,  had  now  provoked  the  jealousy  of  the  two 
leading  powers  of  Europe,  and  the  colonial  struggle  between 
England  and  France  began. 

The  French  claimed  the  right  of  erecting  a  chain  of  fortresses 
along  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi,  with  a  view  to  connect  Canada 
with  Louisiana,  and  thus  obtain  a  monopoly  of  the  fur  trade  with 
the  Indians,  and  secure  the  possession  of  the  finest  part  of  the 
American  continent.  But  these  designs  were  displeasing  to  the 
English  colonists,  who  had  already  extended  their  settlements  far 
into  the  interior.  The  English  ministry  was  also  indignant  in 
view  of  these  movements,  by  which  the  colonies  were  completely 
surrounded  by  military  posts.  England  protested  ;  but  the  French 
artfully  protracted  negotiations  until  the  fortifications  were  com- 
pleted. 

It  was  to  protest  against  the  erection  of  these  fortresses  that 
George  Washington,  then  twenty-three  years  of  age,  was  sent  by 
the  colony  of  Virginia  to  the  banks  of  the  Ohio.  That  journey 
through  the  trackless  wilderness,  attended  but  by  one  person,  in  no 
slight  degree  marked  him  out,  and  prepared  him  for  his  subse- 
quently great  career. 

While  the  disputes  about  the  forts  were  carried  on  between  the 
cabinets  of  France  and  England,  the  French  prosecuted  their 
encroachments  in  America  with  great  boldness,  which  doubtless 


CHAP.  ZX.]        EUROPEAN    SETTLEMENTS    IN    THE    EAST.  337 

hastened  the  rupture  between  the  two  countries.  Orders  were 
sent  to  the  colonies  to  drive  the  French  from  their  usurpations  in 
Nova  Scotia,  and  from  their  fortified  posts  upon  the  Ohio.  Then 
commenced  that  great  war,  which  resulted  in  the  loss  of  the  French 
possessions  in  America.  But  this  war  was  also  allied  with  the 
contests  which  grew  out  of  the  Austrian  Succession,  and  therefore 
will  be  presented  in  a  separate  chapter  on  the  Pelham  administra- 
tion, during  which  the  Seven  Years'  War,  in  the  latter  years  of 
the  reign  of  George  II.,  commenced. 

But  the  colonial  jealousy  between  England  and  France  existed 
not  merely  in  view  of  the  North  American  colonies,  but  also  those 
in  the  East  Indies  ;  and  these  must  be  alluded  to  in  order  to  form  a 
general  idea  of  European  colonization,  and  of  the  causes  which 
led  to  the  mercantile  importance  of  Great  Britain,  as  well  as  to 
the  great  wars  which  desolated  the  various  European  nations. 

From  the  difficulties  in  the  American  colonies,  we  turn  to 
those,  therefore,  which  existed  in  the  opposite  quarter  of  the 
globe.  Even  to  those  old  countries  had  European  armies  pen- 
etrated ;  even  there  European  cupidity  and  enterprise  were  exer- 
cised. 

As  late  as  1742,  the  territories  of  the  English  in  India  scarcely 
extended  beyond  the  precincts  of  the  towns  in  which  were  located 
the  East  India  Company's  servants.  The  first  English  settlement 
of  importance  was  on  the  Island  of  Java ;  but,  in  1658,  a  grant  of 
land  was  obtained  on  the  Coromandel  coast,  near  Madras,  where 
was  erected  the  strong  fortress  of  St.  George.  In  1668,  the  Island 
of  Bombay  was  ceded  by  the  crown  of  Portugal  to  Charles  II., 
and  appointed  the  capital  of  the  British  settlements  in  India.  In 
1698,  the  English  had  a  settlement  on  the  Hooghly,  which  after- 
wards became  the  metropolis  of  British  power. 

But  the  Dutch,  and  Portuguese,  and  French  had  also  colonies 
in  India  for  purposes  of  trade.  Louis  XIV.  established  a  com- 
pany, in  imitation  of  the  English,  which  souglit  a  settlement  on 
the  Hooghly.  The  French  company  also  had  built  a  fort  on 
the  coast  of  the  Cafnatic,  about  eighty  miles  south  of  Madras, 
called  Pondicherry,  and  had  colonized  two  fertile  islands  in  the 
Indian  Ocean,  which  they  called  the  Isle  of  France  and  the  Isle 
of  Bourbon.  The  possessions  of  the  French  were  controlled  by 
29         X 


338  FRENCH    SETTLEMENTS    IN    INDIA.  [cHAP.  XX 

two  presidencies,  one  on  the  Isle  of  France,  and  the  other  at 
Pondichcrry. 

When  the  war  broke  out  between  England  and  France,  in  1744, 
these  two  French  presidencies  were  ruled  by  two  men  of  superior 
genius,  —  La  Bourdonnais  and  Dupleix,  —  both  of  them  men  of 
great  experience  in  Indian  affairs,  and  both  devoted  to  the  interests 
of  the  company,  so  far  as  their  own  personal  ambition  would 
permit.  When  Commodore  Burnet,  with  an  English  squadron, 
was  sent  into  the  Indian  seas.  La  Bourdonnais  succeeded  in  fitting 
out  an  expedition  to  oppose  it,  and  even  contemplated  the  capture 
of  Madras.  No  decisive  action  was  fought  at  sea  ;  but  the  French 
governor  succeeded  in  taking  Madras.  This  success  displeased 
the  Nabob  of  the  Camatic,  and  he  sent  a  letter  to  Dupleix,  and 
complained  of  the  aggression  of  his  countrymen  in  attacking  a 
place  under  his  protection.  Dupleix,  envious  of  the  fame  of  La 
Bourdonnais,  and  not  pleased  with  the  terms  of  capitulation,  as 
being  too  favorable  to  the  English,  claimed  the  right  of  annulling 
the  conquest,  since  Madras,  when  taken,  would  fall  under  his  own 
presidency. 

The  contentions  between  these  two  Frenchmen  prevented  La 
Bourdonnais  from  following  up  the  advantage  of  his  victory,  and 
he  failed  in  his  attempts  to  engage  the  English  fleet,  and,  in 
consequence,  returned  to  France,  and  died  from  the  effects  of  an 
unjust  imprisonment  in  the  Bastile. 

Dupleix,  after  the  departure  of  La  Bourdonnais,  brought  the 
principal  inhabitants  of  Madras  to  Pondicherry.  But  some  of 
them  contrived  to  escape.  Among  them  was  the  celebrated  Clive, 
then  a  clerk  in  a  mercantile  house.  He  entered  as  an  ensign  into 
the  company's  service,  and  soon  found  occasion  to  distinguish 
himself. 

But  Dupleix,  master  of  Madras,  now  formed  the  scheme  of 
founding  an  Indian  empire,  and  of  expelling  the  English  from  the 
Camatic.  And  India  was  in  a  state  to  favor  his  enterprises.  The 
empire  of  the  Great  Mogul,  whose  capital  was  Delhi,  was  tottering 
''rom  decay.  It  had  been,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  most  pow- 
erful empire  in  the  world.  The  magnificence  of  his  palaces 
astonished  even  Europeans  accustomed  to  the  splendor  of  Paris 
ind  Versailles.     His  viceroys  ruled   over  provinces  larger  and 


CHAP.  XX.]  LA    BOURDONNAIS    AND   DUPLEIX.  ■8539 

richer  than  either  France  or  England.  And  even  the  lieutenants 
of  these  viceroys  frequently  aspired  to  independence. 

The  Nabob  of  Arcot  was  one  of  these  latter  princes.  He  hated 
the  French,  and  befriended  the  English.  On  the  death  of  the 
Viceroy  of  the  Deccan,  to  whom  he  was  subject,  in  1748,Dupleix 
conceived  his  gigantic  scheme  of  conquest.  To  the  throne  of  this 
viceroy  there  were  several  claimants,  two  of  whom  applied  to  the 
French  for  assistance.  This  was  what  the  Frenchman  desired, 
and  he  allied  himself  with  the  pretenders.  With  the  assistance  of 
the  French,  Mirzappa  Juy  obtained  the  viceroyalty.  Dupleix  Was 
splendidly  rewarded,  and  was  intrusted  with  the  command  of 
seven  thousand  Indian  cavalry,  and  received  a  present  of  two 
hundred  thousand  pounds. 

The  only  place  on  the  Carnatic  which  remained  in  possession 
of  the  rightful  viceroy  was  Trichinopoly,  and  this  was  soon  in- 
vested by  the  French  and  Indian  forces. 

To  raise  this  siege,  and  turn  the  tide  of  French  conquest,  bo- 
came  the  object  of  Clive,  then  twenty-five  years  of  age.  He 
represented  to  his  superior  the  importance  of  this  post,  and  also  of 
striking  a  decisive  blow.  He  suggested  the  plan  of  an  attack  on 
Arcot  itself,  the  residence  of  the  nabob.  His  project  was  ap- 
proved, and  he  was  placed  at  the  head  of  a  force  of  three  hundred 
sepoys  and  two  hundred  Englishmen.  The  city  was  taken  by 
surprise,  and  its  capture  induced  the  nabob  to  relinquish  the  siege 
of  Trichinopoly  in  order  to  retake  his  capital.  But  Clive  so 
intrenched  his  followers,  that  they  successfully  defended  the  place, 
after  exhibiting  prodigies  of  valor.  The  fortune  of  war  turned  to 
the  side  of  the  gallant  Englishman,  and  Dupleix,  who  was  no  gen- 
eral, retreated  before  the  victors.  Clive  obtained  the  command 
of  Fort  St.  David,  an  important  fortress  near  Madras,  and  soon 
controlled  the  Carnatic. 

About  this  time,  the  settlements  on  the  Hooghly  were  plundered 
by  Suraj-w  Dowlah,  Viceroy  of  Bengal.  Bengal  was  the  most 
fertile  and  populous  province  of  the  empire  of  the  Great  Mogul. 
It  was  watered  by  the  Ganges,  the  sacred  river  of  India,  and  its 
cities  were  surprisingly  rich.  Its  capital  was  Moorshedabad,  a  city 
nearly  as  large  as  London  ;  and  here  the  young  viceroy  lived  in 
luxury  and  effeminacy,  and  indulged  in  every  species  of  cruelty 


340  clive's  victoeies.  [chap.  xx. 

and  folly.  He  hated  the  English  of  Calcutta,  and  longed  to 
plunder  them.  He  accordingly  seized  the  infant  city,  and  shut  up 
one  hundred  and  forty  of  the  colonists  in  a  dungeon  of  the  fort,  a 
room  twenty  feet  by  fourteen,  with  only  two  small  windows ;  and, 
in  a  few  hours,  one  hundred  and  seventeen  of  the  English  died. 
The  horrors  of  that  night  have  been  splendidly  painted  by  Macau- 
lay  in  his  essay  on  Clive,  and  the  place  of  torment,  called  the 
Black  Hole  of  Calcutta^  is  synonymous  with  suffering  and  misery. 
Clive  resolved  to  avenge  this  insult  to  his  countrymen.  An  expe- 
dition was  fitted  out  at  Madras  to  punish  the  inhuman  nabob, 
consisting  of  nine  hundred  Europeans  and  fifteen  hundred  sepoys. 
It  was  a  small  force,  but  proved  suflficient.  Calcutta  was  recovered, 
and  the  army  of  the  nabob  was  routed.  Clive  intrigued  with  the 
enemies  of  the  despot  in  his  own  city ;  and,  by  means  of  unparal- 
leled treachery,  dissimulation,  art,  and  violence,  Suraj-w  Dowlah 
was  deposed,  and  Meer  Jaffier,  one  of  the  conspirators,  was  made 
nabob  in  his  place.  In  return  for  the  services  of  Clive,  the  new 
viceroy  splendidly  rewarded  him.  A  hundred  boats  conveyed  the 
treasures  of  Bengal  down  the  river  to  Calcutta.  Clive  himself, 
who  had  walked  between  heaps  of  gold  and  silver,  crowned  with 
diamonds  and  rubies,  condescended  to  receive  a  present  of  three 
hundred  thousand  pounds.  His  moderation  has  been  commended 
by  his  biographers  in  not  asking  for  a  million. 

The  elevation  of  Meer  Jaffier  was,  of  course,  displeasing  to  the 
imbecile  Emperor  of  India,  and  a  large  army  was  sent  to  dethrone 
him.  The  nabob  appealed,  in  his  necessity,  to  his  allies,  the  Eng- 
lish, and,  with  the  powerful  assistance  of  the  Europeans,  the  forces 
of  the  successor  of  the  great  Aurungzebe  were  signally  routed. 
But  the  great  sums  he  was  obliged  to  bestow  on  his  allies,  and  the 
encroaching  spirit  which  they  manifested,  changed  his  friendship 
into  enmity.  He  plotted  with  the  Dutch  and  the  French  to  over- 
turn the  power  of  the  English.  Clive  divined  his  object,  and 
Meer  Jaffier  was  deposed  in  his  turn.  The  Viceroy  of  Bengal  was 
but  the  tool  of  his  English  protectors,  and  British  power  was 
firmly  planted  in  the  centre  of  India.  Calcutta  became  the  capital 
of  a  great  empire,  and  the  East  India  Company,  a  mere  assem- 
blage of  merchants  and  stockjobbers,  by  their  system  of  perfidy, 
craft,  and  violence,  became  the  rulers  and  disposers  of  provinces 


CHAP.  XX.]  CONQUEST    OF    INDIA.  341 

which  Alexander  had  coveted  in  vain.  The  servants  of  this 
company  made  their  fortunes,  and  untold  wealth  was  transported 
to  England.  Clive  obtained  a  fortune  of  forty  thousand  pounds  a 
year,  an  Irish  peerage,  and  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Commons.  He 
became  an  object  of  popular  idolatry,  courted  by  ministers,  and 
extolled  by  Pitt.  He  was  several  times  appointed  governor-gen- 
eral of  the  country  he  had  conquered,  and  to  him  England  is 
indebted  for  the  foundation  of  her  power  in  India.  But  his  fame 
and  fortune  finally  excited  the  jealousy  of  his  countrymen,  and  he 
/vas  made  to  bear  the  sins  of  the  company  which  he  had  enriched. 
The  malignity  with  which  he  was  pursued,  and  the  disease  which 
he  acquired  in  India,  operated  unfortunately  on  a  temper  naturally 
irritable  ;  his  reason  became  overpowered,  and  he  died,  in  1774, 
by  his  own  hand. 

The  subsequent  career  of  Hastings,  and  final  conquest  of  India, 
form  part  of  the  political  history  of  England  itself,  during  those 
administrations  which  yet  remain  to  be  described.  The  coloniza- 
tion of  America  and  the  East  Indies  now  became  involved  with 
the  politics  of  rival  statesmen  ;  and  its  history  can  only  be  appre- 
ciated by  considering  those  acts  and  principles  which  marked  the 
career  of  the  Newcastles  and  the  Pitts.  The  administration  of 
the  Pelhams,  therefore,  next  claims  attention. 


References.  —  The  best  histories  pertaining  to  the  conquests  of  the 
Spaniards  are  undoubtedly  those  of  Mr.  Prescott.  Irving's  Columbus 
should  also  be  consulted.  For  the  early  history  of  the  North  American 
colonies,  the  attention  of  students  is  directed  to  Grahame's  and  Bancroft's 
Histories  of  the  United  States.  In  regard  to  India,  see  Elphinstone's, 
Gleig's,  Ormes's,  and  Mills's  Histories  of  India;  Malcolm's  Life  of  Clive; 
and  Macaulay's  Essay  on  Clive.  For  the  contemporaneous  history  of 
Great  Britain,  the  best  works  are  those  of  Tyndal,  Smollett,  Lord  Ma- 
hon,  and  Belsham ;  Russell's  Modern  Europe ;  the  Pictorial  History  of 
England;  and  the  continuation  of  Mackintosh,  in  Lardner's  Cabinet 
Cyclopedia. 

29* 


942  THE   FELHAMS.  [CHAF.  XXI. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

THE   REIGN   OF   GEORGE   II. 

The  English  nation  acquiesced  in  the  government  of  Sir  Robert 
Walpole  for  nearly  thirty  years  —  the  longest  administration  in 
the  annals  of  the  country.  And  he  was  equal  to  the  task,  ruling, 
on  the  whole,  beneficently,  promoting  peace,  regulating  the  finances, 
and  encouraging  those  great  branches  of  industry  which  lie  at 
the  foundation  of  English  wealth  and  power.  But  the  intrigues 
of  rival  politicians,  and  the  natural  desire  of  change,  which  all 
parties  feel  after  a  long  repose,  plunged  the  nation  into  war,  and 
forced  the  able  minister  to  retire.  The  opposition,  headed  by  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  supported  by  such  able  statesmen  as  Bolingbroke, 
Carteret,  Chesterfield,  Pulteney,  Windham,  and  Pitt,  and  sustained 
by  the  writings  of  those  great  literary  geni^ises  whom  Walpole 
disdained  and  neglected,  compelled  George  n.,at  last,  to  part  with 
a  man  who  had  conquered  his  narrow  prejudices. 

But  the  Tories  did  not  come  into  power  on  the  retirement  of 
Walpole.  His  old  confederates  remained  at  the  head  of  affairs, 
and  Carteret,  afterwards  Lord  Granville,  the  most  brilliant  man 
of  his  age,  became  the  leading  minister.  But  even  he,  so  great 
in  debate,  and  so  distinguished  for  varied  attainments,  did  not  long 
retain  his  place.  None  of  the  abuses  which  existed  under  the 
former  administration  were  removed ;  and  moreover  the  war, 
which  the  nation  had  clamored  for,  had  proved  disastrous.  He 
also  had  to  bear  the  consequences  of  Walpole's  temporizing  pol- 
icy, which  could  no  longer  be  averted. 

The  new  ministry  was  headed  by  Henry  Pelham,  as  first  lord 
of  the  treasury  and  chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  and  by  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle,  as  principal  secretary  of  state.  These  two 
men  formed,  also,  a  coalition  with  the  leading  members  of  both 
houses  of  parliament,  Tories  as  well  as  Whigs  ;  and,  for  the  first 
time  since  the  accession  of  the  Stuarts,  there  was  no  opposition. 
This  great  coalition  was  called  the  "  Broad  Bottom,"  and  compre- 


CHAP.  XXI.]    THE    PRETENDER   CHARLES    EDWARD    STUART.  343 

hended  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  the  Earls  of  Chesterfield  and  Har- 
rington, Lords  Lyttleton  and  Hardwicke,  Sir  Henry  Cotton,  Mr. 
Doddington,  Mr.  Pitt,  Mr.  Fox,  and  Mr.  Murray.  The  three  latter 
statesmen  were  not  then  formidable. 

The  Pelhams  were  descended  from  one  of  the  oldest,  proudest, 
and  richest  families  in  England,  and  had  an  immense  parliament- 
ary influence  from  their  aristocratic  connections,  their  wealth,  and 
their  experience.  They  were  not  remarkable  for  genius  so  much 
as  for  sagacity,  tact,  and  intrigue.  They  were  extremely  ambi- 
tious, and  fond  of  place  and  power.  They  ruled  England  as  the 
representatives  of  the  aristocracy  —  the  last  administration  which 
was  able  to  defy  the  national  will.  After  their  fall,  the  people  had 
a  greater  voice  in  the  appointment  of  ministers.  Pitt  and  Fox 
were  commoners  in  a  different  sense  from  what  Walpole  was,  and 
represented  that  class  which  has  ever  since  ruled  England,  —  not 
nobles,  not  the  democracy,  but  a  class  between  them,  composed 
of  the  gentry,  landed  proprietors,  lawyers,  merchants,  manufac- 
turers, men  of  leisure,  and  their  dependants. 

The  administration  of  the  Pelhams  is  chiefly  memorable  for  the 
Scotch  rebellion  of  1745,  and  for  the  great  European  war  which 
grew  out  of  colonial  and  commercial  ambition,  and  the  encroach- 
ments of  Frederic  the  Great. 

The  Scotch  rebellion  was  produced  by  the  attempts  of  the  young 
Pretender,  Charles  Edward  Louis  Philip  Casimir  Stuart,  to  regain 
the  throne  of  his  ancestors.  His  adventures  have  the  interest  of 
romance,  and  have  generally  excited  popular  sympathy.  He  was 
born  at  Rome  in  1720  ;  served,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  under  the 
Duke  of  Berwick,  in  Spain,  and,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  received 
overtures  from  some  discontented  people  of  Scotland  to  head  an 
insurrection.  There  was,  at  this  time,  great  public  distress,  and 
George  IL  was  exceedingly  unpopular.  The  Jacobites  were 
powerful,  and  thousands  wished  for  a  change,  including  many 
persons  of  rank  and  influence. 

With  only  seven  followers,  in  a  small  vessel,  he  landed  on  one 
of  the  Western  Islands,  18th  of  July,  1745.  Even  had  the  prom- 
ises which  had  been  made  to  him  by  France,  or  by  people  in 
Scotland,  been  fulfilled,  his  enterprise  would  have  been  most 
hazardous.     But,  without  money,  men,  or  arms,  his  hopes  were 


344  SURRENDER    OF    EDINBURGH.  [cHAP.  XXI. 

'lesperate.  Still  he  cherished  that  presumptuous  self-confidence 
which  so  often  passes  for  bravery,  and  succeeded  better  than 
could  have  been  anticipated.  Several  chieftains  of  the  Highland 
clans  joined  his  standard,  and  he  had  the  faculty  of  gaining  the 
hearts  of  his  followers.  At  Borrodaile  occurred  his  first  interview 
with  the  chivalrous  Donald  Cameron  of  Lochiel,  who  was  per- 
fectly persuaded  of  the  desperate  character  of  his  enterprise,  but 
nevertheless  aided  it  with  generous  self-devotion. 

The  standard  of  Charles  Edward  was  raised  at  Glenfinnan,  on 
the  19th  of  August,  and  a  little  band  of  seven  hundred  adven- 
turers and  enthusiastic  Highlanders  resolved  on  the  conquest  of 
England !  Never  was  devotion  to  an  unfortunate  cause  more 
romantic  and  sincere.  Never  were  energies  more  generously 
made,  or  more  miserably  directed.  But  the  first  gush  of  enthusi- 
asm and  bravery  was  attended  with  success,  and  the  Pretender 
soon  found  himself  at  the  head  of  fifteen  hundred  men,  and  on 
his  way  to  Edinburgh,  marching  among  people  friendly  to  his 
cause,  whom  he  endeared  by  every  attention  and  gentlemanly 
artifice.  The  simple  people  of  the  north  of  Scotland  were  won 
by  his  smiles  and  courtesy,  and  were  astonished  at  the  exertions 
*vhich  the  young  prince  made,  and  the  fatigues  he  was  able  to 
:ndure. 

On  the  15th  of  September,  Charles  had  reached  Linlithgow, 
Diriy  sixteen  miles  from  Edinburgh,  where  he  was  magnificently 
entertained  in  the  ancient  and  favorite  palace  of  the  kings  of  Scot- 
land. Two  days  after,  he  made  his  triumphal  entry  into  the 
capital  of  his  ancestors,  the  place  being  unprepared  for  resistance. 
Colonel  Gardiner,  with  his  regiment  of  dragoons,  was  faithful  to  his 
trust,  and  the  magistrates  of  Edinburgh  did  all  in  their  power  to 
prevent  the  surrender  of  the  city.  But  the  great  body  of  the 
citizens  preferred  to  trust  to  the  clemency  of  Charles,  than  run 
the  risk  of  defence. 

Thus,  without  military  stores,  or  pecuniary  resources,  or  pow- 
erful friends,  simply  by  the  power  of  persuasion,  the  Pretender,  in 
the  short  space  of  two  months  from  his  landing  in  Scotland,  quietly 
took  possession  of  the  most  powerful  city  of  the  north.  The 
Jacobites  put  no  restraint  to  their  idolatrous  homage,  and  the  ladies 
welcomed  the  young  and  handsome  chevalier  with  extravagant 


I 


CHAP.  XXl/  SUCCESS    OF   THE    PRETENDER.  345 

adulation.  Even  the  Whigs  pitied  him,  and  permitted  him  to 
enjoy  his  brief  hour  of  victory. 

At  Edinburgh,  Charles  received  considerable  reenforcement, 
and  took  from  the  city  one  thousand  stand  of  arms.  He  gave  his 
followers  but  little  time  for  repose,  and  soon  advanced  against  the 
royal  army  commanded  by  Sir  John  Cope.  The  two  armies  met 
at  Preston  Pans,  and  were  of  nearly  equal  force.  The  attack  was 
made  by  the  invader,  and  was  impetuous  and  unlooked  for.  Noth- 
ing could  stand  before  the  enthusiasm  and  valor  of  the  Highlanders, 
and  in  five  minutes  the  rout  commenced,  and  a  great  slaughter 
of  the  regular  army  occurred.  Among  those  who  fell  was  the 
distinguished  Colonel  Gardiner,  an  old  veteran,  who  refused  to  fly. 

Charles  followed  up  his  victory  with  moderation,  and  soon  was 
master  of  all  Scotland.  He  indulged  his  taste  for  festivities,  at 
Holyrood,  for  a  while,  and  neglected  -no  means  to  conciliate  the 
Scotch.  He  flattered  their  prejudices,  gave  balls  and  banquets, 
made  love  to  their  most  beautiful  women,  and  denied  no  one  ac- 
cess to  his  presence.  Poets  sang  his  praises,  and  women  extolled 
his  heroism  and  beauty.  The  light,  the  gay,  the  romantic,  and 
the  adventurous  were  on  his  side ;  but  the  substantial  and  wealthy 
classes  were  against  him,  for  they  knew  he  must  be  conquered  in 
the  end. 

Still  his  success  had  been  remarkable,  and  for  it  he  was  indebted 
to  the  Highlanders,  who  did  not  wish  to  make  him  king  of  Eng- 
land, but  only  king  of  Scotland.  But  Charles  deceived  them.  He 
wanted  the  sceptre  of  George  II. ;  and  when  he  commenced  his 
march  into  England,  their  spirits  flagged,  and  his  cause  became 
hopeless.  There  was  one  class  of  men  who  were  inflexibly  hostile 
to  him  —  the  Presbyterian  ministers.  They  looked  upon  him, 
from  the  first,  with  coldness  and  harshness,  and  distrusted  both  his 
religion  and  sincerity.  On  them  all  his  arts,  and  flattery,  and 
graces  were  lost ;  and  they  represented  the  substantial  part  of  the 
Scottish  nation.  It  is  extremely  doubtful  whether  Charles  could 
ever  have  held  Edinburgh,  even  if  English  armies  had  not  been 
sent  against  him. 

But  Charles  had  played  a  desperate  game  from  the  beginning, 
for  the  small  chance  of  winning  a  splendid  prize.  He,  therefore, 
dfter  resting  his  troops,  and  collecting  all  the  force  he  could,  turned 


346  THE  RETREAT  OF  THE  PRETENDER.     [cHAP.  XXI. 

his  face  to  England  at  the  head  of  five  thousand  men,  well  armed 
and  well  clothed,  but  discontented  and  dispirited.  They  had  never 
contemplated  the  invasion  of  England,  but  only  the  recovery  of 
the  ancient  independence  of  Scotland. 

On  the  8th  of  November,  the  Pretender  set  foot  upon  English 
soil,  and  entered  Carlisle  in  triumph.  But  his  forces,  instead  of 
increasing,  diminished,  and  no  popular  enthusiasm  supported  the 
courage  of  his  troops.  But  he  advanced  towards  the  south,  and 
reached  Derby  unmolested  on  the  4th  of  December.  There  he 
learned  that  the  royal  army,  headed  by  the  Duke  of  Cumberland, 
with  twelve  thousand  veterans,  was  advancing  rapidly  against  him. 

His  followers  clamored  to  return,  and  refused  to  advance  another 
step.  They  now  fully  perceived  that  success  was  not  only  hope- 
less, but  that  victory  would  be  of  no  advantage  to  them  ;  that  they 
would  be  sacrificed  by  a  man  who  only  aimed  at  the  conquest 
of  England. 

Charles  was  well  aware  of  the  desperate  nature  of  the  contest, 
but  had  no  desire  to  retreat.  His  situation  was  not  worse  than 
what  it  had  been  when  he  landed  on  the  Hebrides.  Having  pene- 
trated to  within  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  of  London,  against 
the  expectations  of  every  one,  why  should  he  not  persevere  ? 
Some  unlooked-for  success,  some  lucky  incidents,  might  restore 
him  to  the  throne  of  his  grandfather.  Besides,  a  French  army  of 
ten  thousand  was  about  to  land  in  England.  The  Duke  of  Norfolk, 
the  first  nobleman  in  the  country,  was  ready  to  declare  in  his  favor. 
London  was  in  commotion.     A  chance  remained. 

But  his  followers  thought  only  of  their  homes,  and  Charles  was 
obliged  to  yield  to  an  irresistible  necessity.  Like  Richard  Cceur 
de  Lion  after  the  surrender  of  Acre,  he  was  compelled  to  return, 
without  realizing  the  fruit  of  bravery  and  success.  Like  the  Hon- 
hearted  king,  pensive  and  sad,  sullen  and  miserable,  he  gave  the 
order  to  retreat.  His  spirits,  hitherto  buoyant  and  gladsome,  now 
fell,  and  despondency  and  despair  succeeded  vivacity  and  hope. 
He  abandoned  himself  to  grief  and  vexation,  lingered  behind  his 
retreating  army,  and  was  reckless  of  his  men  and  of  their  welfare. 
And  well  he  may  have  been  depressed.  The  motto  of  Hampden, 
"  Vestigia  nulla  retrorsum^^''  had  also  governed  him.  But  others 
would  not  be  animated  by  it,  and  he  was  ruined. 


CHAP.  XXI.]  BATTLE  OF  CULLODEN.  347 

But  his  miserable  and  dejected  army  succeeded  in  reaching 
their  native  soil,  although  pursued  by  the  cavalry  of  two  powerful 
armies,  in  the  midst  of  a  hostile  population,  and  amid  great  sufferings 
from  hunger  and  fatigue.  On  the  26th  of  December,  he  entered 
Glasgow,  levied  a  contribution  on  the  people,  and  prepared  him- 
self for  his  final  battle.  He  retreated  to  the  Highlands,  and  spent 
the  winter  in  recruiting  his  troops,  and  in  taking  fortresses.  On 
the  15th  of  April,  1746,  he  drew  up  his  army  on  the  moor  of 
Culloden,  near  Inverness,  with  the  desperate  resolution  of  attacking, 
with  vastly  inferior  forces,  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  intrenched 
nine  miles  distant.  The  design  was  foolish  and  unfortunate. 
Jt  was  early  discovered ;  and  the  fresh  troops  of  the  royal  duke 
attacked  the  dispirited,  scattered,  and  wearied  followers  of  Charles 
Edward  before  they  could  form  themselves  in  battle  array.  They 
defended  themselves  with  valor.  But  what  is  valor  against  over- 
whelming force  ?  The  army  of  Charles  was  totally  routed,  and 
his  hopes  were  blasted  forever. 

The  most  horrid  barbarities  and  cruelties  were  inflicted  by  the 
victors.  The  wounded  were  left  to  die.  The  castles  of  rebel 
chieftains  were  razed  to  the  ground.  Herds  and  flocks  were 
driven  away,  and  the  people  left  to  perish  with  hunger.  Some  of 
the  captives  were  sent  to  Barbadoes,  others  were  imprisoned,  and 
many  were  shot.  A  reward  of  thirty  thousand  pounds  was  placed 
on  the  head  of  the  Pretender ;  but  he  nevertheless  escaped.  After 
wandering  a  while  as  a  fugitive,  disguised,  wearied,  and  miserable, 
hunted  from  fortress  to  fortress,  and  from  island  to  island,  he  suc- 
ceeded, by  means  of  the  unparalleled  loyalty  and  fidelity  of  his 
few  Highland  followers,  in  securing  a  vessel,  and  in  escaping  to 
France.  His  adventures  among  the  Western  Islands,  especially  those 
which  happened  while  wandering,  in  the  disguise  of  a  female  ser- 
vant, with  Flora  Macdonald,  are  highly  romantic  and  wonderful. 
Equally  wonderful  is  the  fact  that,  of  the  many  to  whom  his  secret 
was  intrusted,  not  one  was  disposed  to  betray  him,  even  in  view 
of  so  splendid  a  bribe  as  thirty  thousand  pounds.  But  this  fact, 
though  surprising,  is  not  inconceivable.  Had  Washington  been 
unfortunate  in  his  contest  with  the  mother  country,  and  had  he 
wandered  as  a  fugitive  amid  the  mountains  of  Vermont,  would  not 
many  Americans  have  shielded  him,  even  in  view  of  a  reward 
of  one  hundred  thousand  pounds  ? 


348  LATTER    DAYS    OF    THE    PRETENDER.  [cHAP.  XXI. 

The  latter  Jays  of  the  Pretender  were  spent  in  Rome  and  Flor- 
ence. He  married  a  Polish  princess,  and  assumed  the  title  of 
Duke  of  Albany.  He  never  relinquished  the  hope  of  securing  the 
English  crown,  and  always  retained  his  politeness  and  grace  of 
manner.  But  he  became  an  object  of  pity,  not  merely  from  his 
poverty  and  misfortunes,  but  also  from  the  vice  of  intemperance, 
which  he  acquired  in  Scotland.  He  died  of  apoplexy,  in  1788, 
and  left  no  legitimate  issue.  The  last  male  heir  of  the  house  of 
Stuart  was  the  Cardinal  of  York,  who  died  iii  1807,  and  who  was 
buried  in  St.  Peter's  Cathedral ;  over  whose  mortal  remains  was 
erected  a  marble  monument,  by  Canova,  through  the  munificence 
of  George  IV.,  to  whom  the  cardinal  had  left  the  crown  jewels 
which  James  11.  had  carried  with  him  to  France.  This  monument 
bears  the  names  of  James  III.,  Charles  III.,  and  Henry  IX.,  kings 
of  England ;  titles  never  admitted  by  the  English.  With  the  battle 
of  Culloden  expired  the  hopes  of  the  Catholics  and  Jacobites  to 
restore  Catholicism  and  the  Stuarts. 

The  great  European  war,  which  was  begun  by  Sir  Robert  Wal- 
pole,  not  long  before  his  retirement,  was  another  great  event  which 
happened  during  the  administration  of  the  Pelhams,  and  with  which 
their  administration  was  connected.  The  Spanish  war  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  war  of  the  Austrian  Succession. 

Maria  Theresa,  Queen  of  Hungary,  ascended  the  oldest  and 
proudest  throne  of  Europe,  —  that  of  Germany,  —  amid  a  host  of 
claimants.  The  Elector  of  Bavaria  laid  claim  to  her  hereditary 
dominions  in  Bohemia ;  the  King  of  Sardinia  made  pretension  to 
the  duchy  of  Milan ;  while  the  Kings  of  Poland,  Spain,  France, 
and  Prussia  disputed  with  her  her  rights  to  the  whole  Austrian 
succession.  Never  were  acts  of  gross  injustice  meditated  with 
greater  audacity.  Just  as  the  young  and  beautiful  princess  ascended 
the  throne  of  Charlemagne,  amid  embarrassments  and  perplexities, 

—  such  as  an  exhausted  treasury,  a  small  army,  a  general  scarcity, 
threatened  hostilities  with  the  Turks,  and  absolute  war  with  France, 

—  the  new  king  of  Prussia,  Frederic,  surnamed  the  Great,  availing 
himself  of  her  distresses,  seized  one  of  the  finest  provinces  of  her 
empire.  The  first  notice  which  the  queen  had  of  the  seizure  of 
Silesia,  was  an  insulting  speech  from  the  Prussian  ambassador. 
'*  T  come,"  said  he,  "  with  safety  for  the  house  of  Austria  on  the 


CHAP.  XXI.]  MARIA   THERESA.  349 

one  hand,  and  the  imperial  crown  for  your  royal  highness  on  the 
other.  The  troops  of  my  master  are  at  the  service  of  the  queen, 
and  cannot  fail  of  being  acceptable,  at  a  time  when  she  is  in  want 
of  both.  And  as  the  king,  my  master,  from  the  situation  of  his 
dominions,  will  be  exposed  to  great  danger  from  this  alliance  with 
the  Queen  of  Hungary,  it  is  hoped  that,  as  an  indemnification,  the 
queen  will  not  offer  him  less  than  the  whole  duchy  of  Silesia." 

The  queen,  of  course,  was  indignant  in  view  of  this  cool  piece 
of  villany,  and  prepared  to  resist.  War  with  all  the  continental 
powers  was  the  result.  France  joined  the  coalition  to  deprive  the 
queen  of  her  empire.  Two  French  armies  invaded  Germany. 
The  Elector  of  Bavaria  marched,  with  a  hostile  army,  to  within 
eight  miles  of  Vienna.  The  King  of  Prussia  made  himself  mas- 
ter of  Silesia.  Abandoned  by  all  her  allies,  —  without  an  army, 
or  ministers,  or  money,  —  the  queen  fled  to  Hungary,  her  heredi- 
tary dominions,  and  threw  herself  on  the  generosity  of  her  sub- 
jects. She  invoked  the  states  of  the  Diet,  and,  clad  in  deep 
mourning,  with  the  crown  of  St.  Stephen  on  her  head,  and  a  cim- 
eter  at  her  side,  she  traversed  the  hall  in  which  her  nobles  were 
assembled,  and  addressed  them,  in  the  immortal  language  of  Rome, 
respecting  her  wrongs  and  her  distresses.  Her  faithful  subjects 
responded  to  her  call ;  and  youth,  beauty,  and  rank,  in  distress, 
obtained  their  natural  triumph.  "  A  thousand  swords  leaped  from 
their  scabbards,"  and  the  old  hall  rung  with  the  cry,  "  We 
will  die  for  our  queen,  Maria  Theresa."  Tears  started  from  the 
eyes  of  the  queen,  whom  misfortunes  and  insult  could  not  bend 
and  called  forth,  even  more  than  her  words,  the  enthusiasm  of  her 
subjects. 

It  was  in  defence  of  this  injured  and  noble  queen  that  the  Eng- 
lish parliament  voted  supplies  and  raised  armies.  This  was  the 
war  which  characterized  the  Pelham  administration,  and  to  which 
Walpole  was  opposed.  But  it  will  be  further  presented,  when  allu- 
sion is  made  to  Frederic  the  Great. 

France  no  sooner  formed  an  alliance  with  Prussia,  against  Aus- 
tria, than  the  "  balance  of  power "  seemed  to  be  disturbed.  To 
restore  this  balance,  and  preserve  Austria,  was  the  aim  of  Eng- 
land. To  the  desire  to  preserve  this  power  may  be  traced  most 
of  the  wars  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  idea  of  a  balance  of 
30 


360  CAPTURE    OF    LOUISBURG.  [cHAP.  ZXI. 

power  was  the  leading  principle  which  animated  all  the  diplomatic 
transactions  of  Europe  for  more  than  a  century. 

By  the  treaty  of  Breslau,  (1742,)  Maria  Theresa  yielded  up  to 
Frederic  the  province  of  Silesia,  and  Europe  might  have  remained 
at  peace.  But  as  England  and  France  were  both  involved  in  the 
contest,  their  old  spirit  of  rivalry  returned  ;  and,  from  auxiliaries, 
they  became  principals  in  the  war,  and  soon  renewed  it.  The 
theatre  of  strife  was  changed  from  Germany  to  Holland,  and  the 
arms  of  France  were  triumphant.  The  Duke  of  Cumberland  was 
routed  by  Marshal  Saxe  at  the  great  battle  of  Fontenoy  ;  and  this 
battle  restored  peace,  for  a  while,  to  Germany.  The  Grand  Duke 
of  Tuscany,  husband  of  Maria  Theresa,  was  elected  Emperor  of 
Germany,  and  assumed  the  title  of  Francis  I. 

But  it  was  easier  to  restore  tranquillity  to  Germany,  than  peace 
between  England  and  France ;  both  powers  panting  for  military 
glory,  and  burning  with  mutual  jealousy.  The  peace  of  Aix  la 
Chapelle,  in  1748,  was  a  truce  rather  than  a  treaty ;  and  France 
and  England  soon  found  occasion  to  plunge  into  new  hostilities. 

During  the  war  of  the  Austrian  Succession,  hostilities  had  not 
been  confined  to  the  continent  of  Europe.  As  colonial  jealousy 
was  one  of  the  animating  principles  of  two  of  the  leading  powers 
in  the  contest,  the  warfare  extended  to  the  colonies  themselves. 
A  body  of  French,  from  Cape  Breton,  surprised  the  little  English 
garrison  of  Canseau,  destroyed  the  fort  and  fishery,  and  removed 
eighty  men,  as  prisoners  of  war,  to  Louisburg  —  the  strongest 
fortress,  next  to  Quebec,  in  French  America.  These  men  were 
afterwards  sent  to  Boston,  on  parole,  and,  while  there,  communi- 
cated to  Governor  Shirley  the  state  of  the  fortress  in  which  they 
had  been  confined.  Shirley  resolved  to  capture  it,  and  the  legis- 
lature of  Massachusetts  voted  supplies  for  the  expedition.  All  the 
New  England  colonies  sent  volunteers ;  and  the  united  forces,  of 
about  four  thousand  men  were  put  under  the  command  of  William 
Pepperell,  a  merchant  at  Kittery  Point,  near  Portsmouth.  The 
principal  part  of  the  forces  was  composed  of  fishermen  ;  but  they 
were  Yankees.  Amid  the  fogs  of  April,  this  little  army,  rich  in 
expedients,  set  sail  to  take  a  fortress  which  five  hundred  men  could 
defend  against  five  thousand.  But  they  were  successful,  aided  by 
an  English  fleet ;  and,  after  a  siege  of  three  months,  Louisburg 


CHAP.  XXI.]        GREAT  COLONIAL  CONTEST.  351 

surrendered,  (1745)  — justly  deemed  the  greatest  achievement  of 
the  whole  war. 

But  the  French  did  not  relinquish  their  hopes  of  gaining  an 
ascendency  on  the  American  continent,  and  prosecuted  their  labors 
of  erecting  on  the  Ohio  their  chain  of  fortifications,  to  connect 
Canada  with  Louisiana.  The  erection  of  these  forts  was  no  small 
cause  of  the  breaking  out  of  fresh  hostilities.  When  the  contest 
was  renewed  between  Maria  Theresa  and  Frederic  the  Great,  and 
the  famous  Seven  Years'  War  began,  the  English  resolved  to  con- 
quer all  the  French  possessions  in  America. 

Without  waiting,  however,  for  directions  from  England,  Gov- 
ernor Dinwiddle,  of  Virginia,  raised  a  regiment  of  troops,  of  which 
George  Washington  was  made  lieutenant-colonel,  and  with  which 
he  marched  across  the  wilderness  to  attack  Fort  Du  Quesne,  now 
Pittsburg,  at  the  junction  of  the  Alleghany  and  Monongahela 
Rivers. 

That  unsuccessful  expedition  was  the  commencement  of  the 
great  colonial  contest  in  which  Canada  was  conquered.  Early  in 
1755,  General  Braddock  was  sent  to  America  to  commence  offen- 
sive operations.  The  colonies  cooperated,  and  three  expeditions 
were  planned ;  one  to  attack  Fort  Du  Quesne,  a  second  to  attack 
Fort  Niagara,  and  a  third  to  attack  Crown  Point.  The  first  was 
to  be  composed  of  British  troops,  under  Braddock,  the  second  of 
American,  under  Governor  Shirley,  and  the  third  of  militia  of  the 
northern  colonies. 

The  expedition  against  Fort  Du  Quesne  was  a  memorable 
failure.  Braddock  was  a  brave  man,  but  unfitted  for  his  work, 
Hyde  Park  having  hitherto  been  the  only  field  of  his  military 
operations.  Moreover,  with  that  presumption  and  audacity  which 
then  characterized  his  countrymen,  he  affected  sovereign  contempt 
for  his  American  associates,  and  would  listen  to  no  advice.  Un- 
acquainted with  Indian  warfare,  and  ignorant  of  the  country,  he 
yet  pressed  towards  the  interior,  until,  within  ten  miles  of  Fort  Du 
Quesne,  he  was  surprised  by  a*body  of  French  and  Indians,  and 
taken  in  an  ambuscade.  Instant  retreat  might  still  have  saved 
him ;  but  he  was  too  proud  not  to  fight  according  to  rule  ;  and  he 
fell  mortally  wounded.  Washington  was  the  only  mounted  officer 
that  escaped  being  killed  or  wounded.     By  his  prudent  and  skilful 


352  CHARACTER    OF    THE    DUKE    OF    NEWCASTLE.    [cHAP.  XXI. 

management,  he  saved  half  of  his  men,  who  formed  after  the 
the  battle,  and  effected  a  retreat. 

The  other  two  expeditions  also  failed,  chiefly  through  want  of 
union  between  the  provincial  governor  and  the  provincial  assem- 
blies, and  also  from  the  moral  effects  of  the  defeat  of  Braddock. 
Moreover,  the  colonies  perfectly  understood  that  they  were  fight- 
ing, not  for  liberty,  but  for  the  glory  and  ambition  of  the  mother 
country,  and  therefore  did  not  exhibit  the  ardor  they  evinced  in 
the  revolutionary  struggle. 

But  the  failure  of  these  expeditions  contributed  to  make  the 
ministry  of  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  unpopular.  Other  mistakes 
were  also  made  in  the  old  world.  The  conduct  of  Admiral  Byng 
in  the  Mediterranean  excited  popular  clamor.  The  repeated  dis- 
appointments and  miscarriages,  the  delay  of  armaments,  the 
neglect  of  opportunities,  the  absurd  disposition  of  fleets,  were 
numbered  among  the  misfortunes  which  resulted  from  a  weak  and 
incapable  ministry.  Stronger  men  were  demanded  by  the  indig- 
nant voice  of  the  nation,  and  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  first 
lord  of  the  treasury,  since  the  death  of  his  brother,  was  obliged 
to  call  Mr.  Pitt  and  Mr.  Legge  —  the  two  most  popular  commoners 
of  England  —  into  the  cabinet.  But  the  new  administration  did 
not  work  harmoniously.  It  was  an  emblem  of  that  image  which 
Nebuchadnezzar  beheld  in  a  vision,  with  a  head  of  gold,  and  legs 
of  iron,  and  feet  of  clay.  Pitt  and  Legge  were  obliged  by  their 
colleague  to  resign.  But  their  removal  incensed  the  whole  nation, 
and  so  great  was  the  clamor,  that  the  king  was  compelled  to  rein- 
state the  popular  idols  —  the  only  men  capable  of  managing  affairs 
at  that  crisis.  Pitt  became  secretary  of  state,  and  Legge  chancel- 
lor of  the  exchequer.  The  Duke  of  Newcastle,  after  being  at  the 
head  of  administration  ten  years,  was,  reluctantly,  compelled  to 
resign.  The  Duke  of  Devonshire  became  nominally  the  premier, 
but  Pitt  was  the  ruling  spirit  in  the  cabinet. 

The  character  of  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  is  thus  sketched  by 
Horace  Walpole  :  "  He  had  no  pride,  but  infinite  self-love.  Jeal- 
ousy was  the  great  source  of  all  his  faults.  There  was  no 
expense  to  which  he  was  addicted  but  generosity.  His  houses, 
gardens,  table,  and  equipage,  swallowed  immense  sums,  and  the 
sums  he  owed  were  only  exceeded  by  those  he  wasted.     He  loved 


CHAP.  XXI.]  UNPOPULARITY    OF    THE    PELHAMS.  353 

business  immoderately,  but  was  always  doing  it ;  he  never  did  it. 
His  speeches  were  copious  in  words,  but  empty  and  unmeaning ; 
his  professions  extravagant,  and  his  curiosity  insatiable.  He  was 
a  secretary  of  state  without  intelligence,  a  duke  without  money,  a 
man  of  infinite  intrigue  without  secrecy,  and  a  minister  hated  by 
all  parties,  without  being  turned  out  by  either."  "  All  able  men," 
adds  Macaulay,  "  ridiculed  him  as  a  dunce,  a  driveller,  a  child  who 
never  knew  his  own  mind  an  hour  together  ;  and  yet  he  over- 
reached them  all." 

The  Pelham  administration  cannot,  on  the  whole,  be  called 
fortunate,  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  a  disgraceful  one.  The  Pel- 
hams  "  showed  themselves,"  says  Smyth,  "  friendly  to  the  princi- 
ples of  mild  government.  With  all  their  faults,  they  were  tolerant, 
peaceful,  prudent;  they  had  the  merit  of  respecting  public  opin- 
ion ;  and  though  they  were  not  fitted  to  advance  the  prosperity  of 
their  country  by  any  exertions  of  political  genius,  they  were  not 
blind  to  such  opportunities  as  fairly  presented  themselves.  But 
they  were  not  fitted  for  the  stormy  times  in  which  they  lived,  and 
quietly  yielded  to  the  genius  of  a  man  whom  they  did  not  like,  and 
whom  the  king  absolutely  hated.  George  II.,  against  his  will, 
was  obliged  to  intrust  the  helm  of  state  to  the  only  man  in  the 
nation  capable  of  holding  it. 

The  administration  of  William  Pitt  is  emphatically  the  history 
of  the  civilized  world,  during  a  period  of  almost  universal  war. 
It  was  for  his  talents  as  a  war  minister  that  he  was  placed  at  the 
head  of  the  government,  and  his  policy,  like  that  of  his  greater 
son,  in  a  still  more  stormy  epoch,  was  essentially  warlike.  In  the 
eyes  of  his  contemporaries,  his  administration  was  brilliant  and 
successful,  and  he  undoubtedly  raised  England  to  a  high  pitch 
of  military  glory ;  but  glory,  alas !  most  dearly  purchased,  since 
it  led  to  the  imposition  of  taxes  beyond  a  parallel,  and  the  vast 
increase  of  the  national  debt. 

He  was  born  in  1708,  of  good  family,  his  grandfather  havmg 
been  governor  of  Madras,  and  the  purchaser  of  the  celebrated 
diamond  which  bears  his  name,  and  which  was  sold  to  the  regent 
of  France  for  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand  pounds.  Wil- 
liam Pitt  was  sent  to  Oxford  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  and  at 
twenty-seven,  became  a  member  of  parliament.  From  the  fii*st 
30*         Y 


354  EISE    OF    WILLIAM    PITT.  [cHAP.  XXI. 

he  was  heard  with  attention,  and,  when  years  and  experience  had 
given  him  wisdom  and  power,  his  eloquence  was  overwhelming. 
No  one  ever  equalled  him  in  brilliant  invective  and  scorching 
sarcasm.  He  had  not  the  skill  of  Fox  in  debate,  nor  was  he  a 
great  reasoner,  like  Murray;  he  did  not  talk  philosophy,  like 
Burke,  nor  was  he  master  of  details,  like  his  son ;  but  he  had  an 
air  of  sincerity,  a  vehemence  of  feeling,  an  intense  enthusiasm, 
and  a  moral  elevation  of  sentiment,  which  bore  every  thing  away 
before  him. 

When  Walpole  was  driven  from  power,  Pitt  exerted  his  elo- 
quence in  behalf  of  the  Pelham  government.  Being  personally 
obnoxious  to  the  king,  he  obtained  no  office.  But  he  was  not  a 
man  to  be  amused  by  promises  long,  and,  as  he  would  not  render 
his  indispensable  services  without  a  reward,  he  was  made  pay- 
master of  the  forces  —  a  lucrative  office,  but  one  which  did  not  give 
him  a  seat  in  the  cabinet.  This  office  he  retained  for  eight  years, 
which  were  years  of  peace.  But  when  the  horizon  was  over- 
clouded by  the  death  of  Henry  Pelham,  in  1754,  and  difficulties 
arose  between  France  and  England  respecting  North  America 
and  the  East  Indies ;  when  disasters  in  war  tarnished  the  glory  of 
the  British  arms,  and  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  showed  his  inca- 
pacity to  meet  the  national  crisis,  Pitt  commenced  a  furious  oppo- 
sition. Of  coui-se  he  was  dismissed  from  office.  But  the  Duke 
of  Newcastle  could  not  do  without  him,  and  the  king  was  obliged 
to  call  him  into  the  cabinet  as  secretary  of  state,  in  1756.  But 
the  administration  did  not  work.  The  king  opposed  the  views  of 
Pitt,  and  he  was  compelled  to  resign.  Then  followed  disasters 
and  mistakes.  The  resignation  of  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  became 
an  imperative  necessity.  Despondency  and  gloom  hung  over  the 
nation,  and  he  was  left  without  efficient  aid  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons. Nothing  was  left  to  the  king  but  to  call  in  the  aid  of  the 
man  he  hated ;  and  Pitt,  as  well  as  Legge,  were  again  reinstated, 
the  Duke  of  Devonshire  remaining  nominally  at  the  head  of  the 
administration. 

But  this  administration  only  lasted  five  months,  during  which 
Admiral  Byng  was  executed,  and  the  Seven  Years'  War,  of  which 
Frederic  of  Prussia  was  the  hero,  fairly  commenced.  In  1757, 
Pitt   and   his   colleague  were   again  dismissed.     But  never  was 


CHAP.  XXI.]  BRILLIANT    MILITARY    SUCCESSES.  355 

popular  resentment  more  fierce  and  terrible.  Again  was  the  king 
obliged  to  bend  to  the  "  great  commoner."  An  arrangement  was 
made,  and  a  coalition  formed.  Pitt  became  secretary  of  state,  and 
virtual  premier,  but  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  came  in  as  first  lord 
of  the  treasury.  But  Pitt  selected  the  cabinet.  His  brother-in- 
law,  Lord  Temple,  was  made  keeper  of  the  privy  seal,  and  Lord 
Grenville  was  made  treasurer  of  the  navy ;  Fox  became  pay- 
master of  the  forces ;  the  Duke  of  Bedford  received  the  lord  lieu- 
tenancy of  Ireland  ;  Hardwicke,  the  greatest  lawyer  of  his  age, 
became  lord  chancellor ;  Legge,  the  ablest  financier,  was  made 
chancellor  of  the  exchequer.  Murray,  a  little  while  before,  had 
been  elevated  to  the  bench,  as  Lord  Mansfield.  There  was 
scarcely  an  eminent  man  in  the  House  of  Commons  who  was  not 
made  a  member  of  the  administration.  All  the  talent  of  the 
nation  was  laid  at  the  feet  of  Pitt,  and  he  had  the  supreme  direc- 
tion of  the  army  and  of  foreign  affairs. 

Then  truly  commenced  the  brilliant  career  of  Pitt.  He  imme- 
diately prosecuted  hostilities  with  great  boldness,  and  on  a  gigan- 
tic scale.  Immense  armies  were  raised  and  sent  to  all  parts  of 
the  world. 

But  nothing  raised  the  reputation  of  Pitt  so  highly  as  military 
operations  in  America.  He  planned,  immediately  on  his  assump- 
tion of  supreme  power  as  virtual  dictator  of  England,  three  great 
expeditions  —  one  against  Louisburg,  a  second  against  Ticonderoga, 
and  a  third  against  Fort  Du  Quesne.  Two  of  these  were  attended 
with  triumphant  success,  (1758.) 

Louisburg,  which  had  been  surrendered  to  France  by  the  treaty 
of  Aix  la  Chapelle,  was  reduced  by  General  Amherst,  though 
only  with  a  force  of  fourteen  thousand  men. 

General  Forbes  marched,  with  eight  thousand  men,  against  Fort 
Du  Quesne;  but  it  was  abandoned  by  the  enemy  before  he 
reached  it. 

Ticonderoga  was  not,  however,  taken,  although  the  expedition 
was  conducted  by  General  Abercrombie,  with  a  force  of  sixteen 
thousand  men. 

Thus  nearly  the  largest  military  force  ever  known  at  one  time 
m  America  was  employed  nearly  a  century  ago,  by  William  Pitt^ 
composed  of  fifty  thousand  men,  of  whom  twenty-two  thousarul 
were  regular  troops. 


356  MILITARY   SUCCESSES   IN    AMERICA.  [cHAP.  XXI. 

The  campaign  of  1759  was  attended  with  greater  results  than 
even  that  of  the  preceding  year.  General  Amherst  succeeded  Ab- 
crcrombie,  and  the  plan  for  the  reduction  of  Canada  was  intrusted 
to  him  for  execution.  Three  great  expeditions  were  projected : 
one  was  to  be  commanded  by  General  Wolfe,  who  had  distin- 
guished himself  at  the  siege  of  Louisburg,  and  who  had  orders 
from  the  war  secretary  to  ascend  the  St.  Lawrence,  escorted  by 
the  fleet,  and  lay  siege  to  Quebec.  The  second  army,  of  twelve 
thousand  men,  under  General  Amherst,  was  ordered  to  reduce 
Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  cross  Lake  Champlain,  and  pro- 
ceed along  the  River  Richelieu  to  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
join  General  Wolfe,  and  assist  in  the  reduction  of  Quebec.  The 
third  army  was  sent  to  Fort  Niagara,  the  most  important  post  in 
French  America,  since  it  commanded  the  lakes,  and  overawed 
the  whole  country  of  the  Six  Nations.  After  the  reduction  of  this 
fort,  the  army  was  ordered  down  the  St.  Lawrence  to  besiege 
Montreal. 

That  this  project  was  magnificent,  and  showed  the  comprehen- 
sive military  genius  of  Pitt,  cannot  be  doubted.  But  that  it  was 
easy  of  execution  may  well  be  questioned,  when  it  is  remembered 
that  the  navigation  of  the  St.  Lawrence  was  difficult  and  danger- 
ous ;  that  the  fortifications  and  strength  of  Quebec  were  unrivalled 
in  the  new  world ;  that  the  French  troops  between  Montreal  and 
Quebec  numbered  nine  thousand  men,  besides  Indians, commanded, 
too,  by  so  great  a  general  as  Montcalm.  Still  all  of  these  expe- 
ditions were  successful.  Quebec  and  Niagara  were  taken,  and 
Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga  were  abandoned. 

The  most  difficult  part  of  the  enterprise  was  the  capture  of 
Quebec,  which  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  military  exploits  ever 
performed,  and  which  raised  the  English  general  to  the  very 
summit  of  military  fame.  He  was  disappointed  in  the  expected 
cooperation  of  General  Amherst,  and  he  had  to  take  one  of  the 
strongest  fortresses  in  the  world,  defended  by  troops  superior  in 
number  to  his  own.  He  succeeded  in  climbing  the  almost  per- 
pendicular rock  on  which  the  fortress  was  built,  and  in  overcoming 
a  superior  force.  Wolfe  died  in  the  attack,  but  lived  long  enough 
to  hear  of  the  flight  of  the  enemy.  Nothing  could  exceed  the 
tumultuous  joy  in  England  with  which  the  news  of  the  fall  of 


CHAP.  XXI.]  VICTORIES    OF    CLIVE    IN    INDIA.  357 

Quebec  was  received ;  nothing  could  surpass  the  interest  with 
which  the  distant  expedition  was  viewed  ;  and  the  depression  of  the 
French  was  equal  to  the  enthusiasm  of  the  English.  Wolfe  gained 
Clive  was  adding  a  new  empire  to  the  vast  dominions  of  Great 
Britain.  India  was  conquered,  and  the  British  power  firmly  planted 
tages  which  resulted  from  the  conquest  of  Canada,  which  soon 
followed  the  reduction  of  Quebec.  He  became  the  nation's  idol, 
and  was  left  to  prosecute  the  various  wars  in  which  England  was 
engaged,  in  his  own  way. 

While  the  English  armies,  under  the  direction  of  Pitt,  were 
wresting  from  the  French  nearly  all  their  possessions  in  America, 
an  immortal  name,  and  a  monument  was  erected  to  him  in  West- 
minster Abbey.  But  Pitt  reaped  the  solid  and  substantial  advan- 
in  the  East.  Moreover,  the  English  allies  on  the  continent  —  the 
Prussians  —  obtained  great  victories,  which  will  be  alluded  to  in 
the  chapter  on  Frederic  the  Great.  On  all  sides  the  English  were 
triumphant,  and  were  intoxicated  with  joy.  The  stocks  rose,  and 
the  bells  rang  almost  an  incessant  peal  for  victories. 

In  the  midst  of  these  public  rejoicings.  King  George  II.  died. 
He  was  a  sovereign  who  never  secured  the  affections  of  the  nation, 
whose  interests  he  sacrificed  to  those  of  his  German  electorate. 
"  He  had  neither  the  qualities  which  make  libertinism  attractive, 
nor  the  qualities  which  make  dulness  respectable.  He  had  been 
a  bad  son,  and  he  made  a  worse  father.  Not  one  magnanimous 
action  is  recorded  of  him,  but  many  meannesses.  But  his  judg- 
ment was  sound,  his  habits  economical,  and  his  spirit  bold.  These 
qualities  prevented  him  from  being  despised,  if  they  did  not  make 
him  honored." 

His  grandson,  George  III.,  entered  upon  his  long  reign,  October, 
1760,  in  the  twenty-third  year  of  his  age,  and  was  universally 
admitted  to  be  the  most  powerful  monarch  in  Christendom  —  or, 
rather,  the  monarch  of  the  most  powerful  kingdom.  He,  or,  rather, 
his  ministers,  resolved  to  prosecute  the  war  with  vigor,  and  parlia- 
ment voted  liberal  supplies.  The  object  of  Pitt  was  the  humiliation 
of  both  France  and  Austria,  and  also  the  protection  of  Prussia, 
struggling  against  almost  overwhelming  forces.  He  secured  his 
object  by  administering  to  the  nation  those  draughts  of  flattery  and 
military  glory  which  intoxicated  the  people. 


358  RESIGNATION    OF    PITT.  [cHAP.  XXI. 

However  sincere  the  motives  and  brilliant  the  genius  of  the 
minister,  it  was  impossible  that  a  practical  nation  should  not  awake 
from  the  delusion  which  he  so  powerfully  contributed  to  produce. 
People  at  last  inquired  "  why  England  was  to  become  a  party  in 
a  dispute  between  two  German  powers,  and  why  were  the  best 
English  regiments  fighting  on  the  Maine  ?  "  What  was  it  to  the 
busy  shopkeeper  of  London  that  the  Tower  guns  were  discharged, 
and  the  streets  illuminated,  if  he  were  to  be  additionally  taxed? 
Statesmen  began  to  calculate  the  enormous  sums  which  had  been 
wasted  in  an  expensive  war,  where  nothing  had  been  gained  but 
glory.  Besides,  jealousies  and  enmities  sprung  up  against  Pitt. 
Some  were  offended  by  his  haughtiness,  and  others  were  estranged 
by  his  withering  invective.  And  his  enemies  were  numerous  and 
powerful.  Even  the  cabinet  ministers,  who  were  his  friends, 
turned  against  him.  He  wished  to  declare  war  against  Spain, 
while  the  nation  was  bleeding  at  every  pore.  But  the  cabinet 
could  not  be  persuaded  of  the  necessity  of  the  war,  and  Pitt,  of 
course,  resigned.  But  it  was  inevitable,  and  took  place  under  his 
successor.  Pitt  left  the  helm  of  state  with  honor.  He  received  a 
pension  of  three  thousand  pounds  a  year,  and  his  wife  was  made 
a  baroness. 

The  Earl  of  Bute  succeeded  him  as  premier,  and  was  the  first 
Tory  minister  since  the  accession  of  the  house  of  Hanover.  His 
watchword  was  prerogative.  The  sovereign  should  no  longer  be 
a  gilded  puppet,  but  a  real  king  —  an  impossible  thing  in  England. 
But  his  schemes  pleased  the  king,  and  Oxford  University,  and  Dr. 
Johnson  ;  while  his  administration  was  assailed  with  a  host  of  libels 
from  Wilkes,  Churchill,  and  other  kindred  firebrands. 

His  main  act  was  the  peace  he  secured  to  Europe.  The  Whigs 
railed  at  it  then,  and  rail  at  it  now ;  and  Macaulay  falls  in  with  the 
lamentation  of  his  party,  and  regrets  that  no  better  terms  should 
have  been  made.  But  what  can  satisfy  the  ambition  of  England  ? 
The  peace  of  Paris,  in  1763,  stipulated  that  Canada,  with  the 
Island  of  St.  John,  and  Cape  Breton,  and  all  that  part  of  Louisi- 
ana which  lies  east  of  the  Mississippi,  except  New  Orleans,  should 
be  ceded  to  Great  Britain,  and  that  the  fortifications  of  Dunkirk 
should  be  destroyed  ;  that  Spain  should  relinquish  her  claim  to  fish 
on  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  should  permit  the  English  to  cut 


CHAP.  XXI.]  PEACE  OF  PARIS.  359 

mahogany  on  the  shores  of  Honduras  Bay,  and  cede  Florida  and 
Minorca  to  Great  Britain.  In  return  for  these  things,  the  French 
were  permitted  to  fish  on  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  and  the 
Islands  of  Martinique,  Guadaloupe,  Belleisle,  and  St.  Lucia  were 
restored  to  them,  and  Cuba  was  restored  to  Spain. 

The  peace  of  Paris,  in  1763,  constitutes  an  epoch ;  and  we 
hence  turn  to  survey  the  condition  of  France  since  the  death  of 
Louis  XIV.,  and  also  other  continental  powers. 


References.  —  Archdeacon  Coxe's  History  of  the  Pelham  Administra- 
tion. Thackeray's  Life  of  Lord  Chatham.  Macaulay's  Essay  on  Chatham. 
Horace  Walpole's  Reminiscences.  Smyth's  Lectures  on  Modern  History. 
Jesse's  Memoirs  of  the  Pretenders.  Graham's  History  of  the  United 
States,  an  exceedingly  valuable  work,  but  not  sufficiently  known.  Lord 
Mahon's,  Smollett's,  Tyndal's,  and  Belsham's,  are  the  standard  histories 
of  England,  at  this  period ;  also,  the  continuation  of  Mackintosh,  and  the 
Pictorial  ffistory,  are  valuable.  See  also  the  Marchmont  Papers,  Ray's 
History  of  the  Rebellion,  Horace  "Walpole's  Memoirs  of  George  II.,  Lord 
Waldegrave's  Memoirs,  and  Doddington's  Diary. 


360  REGENCY  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  ORLEANS.   [cHAP.  XIII. 


CHAPTER     XXII. 

LOUIS   XV. 

The  reign  of  Louis  XV.  was  one  of  the  longest  on  record, 
extending  from  1715  to  1774  —  the  greater  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  But  he  was  a  child,  only  five  years  of  age,  on  the  death 
of  his  great  grandfather,  Louis  XIV. ;  and,  even  after  he  came  to 
his  majority,  he  was  ruled  by  his  ministers  and  his  mistresses.  He 
was  not,  like  Louis  XIV.,  the  life  and  the  centre  of  all  great  move- 
ments in  his  country.  He  was  an  automaton,  a  pageant ;  not 
because  the  constitution  imposed  checks  on  his  power,  but  because 
he  was  weak  and  vacillating.  He,  therefore,  performing  no  great 
part  in  history,  is  only  to  be  alluded  to,  and  attention  should  be 
mainly  directed  to  his  ministers. 

During  the  minority  of  the  king,  the  reins  of  government  were 
held  by  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  as  regent,  and  who,  in  case  of  the 
king's  death,  would  be  the  next  king,  being  grand-nephew  of  Louis 
XIV.  The  administration  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans  is  nearly  con 
temporaneous  with  that  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole.  The  most  press- 
ing subject  which  demanded  the  attention  of  the  regent,  was  that 
of  the  finances.  The  late  king  had  left  a  debt  of  one  thousand 
millions  of  livres  —  an  enormous  sum  in  that  age.  To  get  rid  of 
this  burden,  the  Duke  of  St.  Simon  proposed  a  bankruptcy. 
"  This," -said  he,  "  would  fall  chiefly  on  the  commercial  and  mon- 
eyed classes,  who  were  not  to  be  feared  or  pitied ;  and  would, 
moreover,  be  not  only  a  relief  to  the  state,  but  a  salutary  warning 
to  the  ignoble  classes  not  to  lend  their  money."  This  speech  illus- 
trates the  feelings  and  opinions  of  the  aristocratic  class  in  France, 
at  that  time.  But  the  minister  of  finance  would  not  run  the  risk 
of  incurring  the  popular  odium  which  such  a  measure  would  have 
produced,  and  he  proposed  calling  together  the  States  General. 
The  regent  duke,  however,  would  not  hear  of  that  measure,  and 
yet  did  not  feel  inclined  to  follow  fully  the  advice  of  St.  Simon. 
He  therefore  compromised  the  matter,  and  resolved  to  rob  the 


CHAP.  XXII.]  JOHN    LAW.  361 

national  creditor.  He  established  a  commission  to  verify  the  bills 
of  the  public  creditors,  and,  if  their  accounts  did  not  prove  satis- 
factory, to  cancel  them  entirely.  Three  hundred  and  fifty  millions 
of  livres  —  equal,  probably,  to  three  hundred  millions  of  dollars  in 
this  age  —  were  thus  swept  away.  But  it  was  resolved  not  only 
to  refuse  to  pay  just  debts,  but  to  make  people  repay  the  gains 
which  they  had  made.  Those  who  had  loaned  money  to  the  state, 
or  had  farmed  the  revenues,  were  flung  into  prison,  and  threatened 
with  confiscation  of  their  goods,  and  even  death,  —  treated  as  Jews 
were  treated  in  the  Dark  Ages,  —  unless  they  redeemed  themselves 
by  purchasing  a  pardon.  Never  before  did  men  suffer  such  a 
penalty  for  having  befriended  an  embarrassed  state.  To  this 
injustice  and  cruelty  the  magistracy  winked.  But,  in  addition  to 
this,  the  coin  was  debased  to  such  an  extent,  that  seventy-two  mil- 
lions of  livres  were  thus  added  to  the  treasury.  Yet  even  these 
gains  were  not  enough  to  satisfy  a  profligate  government.  There 
still  continued  a  constant  pressure.  The  national  debt  had  increased 
even  to  fifteen  hundred  millions  of  livres,  or  almost  seventy  mil- 
lions sterling — equivalent  to  what  would  now  be  equal  to  at  least 
one  thousand  millions  of  dollars. 

To  get  rid  of  this  debt,  the  regent  listened  to  the  schemes  of  the 
celebrated  John  Law,  a  Scotch  adventurer  and  financier,  who  had 
established  a  bank,  had  grown  rich,  and  was  reputed  to  be  a  won- 
derful political  economist. 

Law  proposed,  in  substance,  to  increase  the  paper  currency  of 
the  country,  and  thus  supersede  the  necessity  for  the  use  of  the 
precious  metals. 

The  regent,  moreover,  having  great  faith  in  Law's  abilities,  and 
in  his  wealth,  converted  his  private  bank  into  a  royal  one  —  made 
it,  in  short,  the  Bank  of  France.  This  bank  was  then  allied  with 
the  two  great  commercial  companies  of  the  time  —  the  East  India 
and  the  Mississippi.  Great  privileges  were  bestowed  on  each. 
The  latter  had  the  exclusive  monopoly  of  the  trade  with  Louisiana, 
and  all  the  countries  on  the  Mississippi  River,  and  also  of  the  fur 
trade  in  Canada.  Louisiana  was  then  supposed  to  be  rich  in  gold 
mines,  and  great  delusions  arose  from  the  popular  notion. 

The  capital  of  this  gigantic  corporation  was  fixed  at  one  hundred 
millions  ;  and  Law,  who  was  made  director-general,  aimed  to  make 
31 


362  MISSISSIPPI    COMPANY.  [cHAP.  XXII. 

the  notes  of  the  company  preferable  to  specie,  which,  however, 
could  lawfully  be  demanded  for  the  notes.  So  it  was  settled  that 
the  shares  of  the  company  could  only  be  purchased  by  the  paper 
of  the  bank.  As  extravagant  hopes  of  gain  were  cherished 
respecting  the  company,  its  shares  were  in  great  demand.  And, 
as  only  Law's  bank  bills  could  purchase  the  shares,  the  gold  and 
silver  of  the  realm  flowed  into  Law's  bank.  Law  and  the  regent 
had,  therefore,  the  fabrication  of  both  shares  and  bank  bills  to  an 
indefinite  amount. 

The  national  creditor  was  also  paid  in  the  notes  of  the  bank ; 
and,  as  unbounded  confidence  existed,  both  in  the  genius  of  Law 
and  in  the  profits  of  the  Mississippi  Company,  —  as  the  shares  were 
constantly  in  demand,  and  were  rising  in  value,  —  the  creditor  was 
satisfied.  In  a  short  time,  one  half  of  the  national  debt  was  trans- 
ferred. Government  owed  the  bank,  and  not  the  individuals  and 
corporations  from  whom  loans  had  been  originally  obtained.  These 
individuals,  instead  of  government  scrip,  had  shares  in  the  Missis- 
sippi Company. 

And  all  would  have  been  well,  had  the  company's  shares  been 
valuable,  or  had  they  retained  their  credit,  or  even  had  but  a  small 
part  of  the  national  debt  been  transferred.  But  the  people  did  not 
know  the  real  issues  of  the  bank,  and  so  long  as  new  shares  could 
be  created  and  sold  to  pay  the  interest,  the  company's  credit  was 
good.  For  a  while  the  delusion  lasted.  Law  was  regarded  as  a 
great  national  benefactor.  His  house  was  thronged  with  dukes 
and  princes.  He  became  controller- general  of  the  finances  — 
virtually  prime  minister.  His  fame  extended  far  and  wide.  Hon- 
ors were  showered  upon  him  from  every  quarter.  He  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  French  Academy.  His  schemes  seemed  to  rain 
upon  Paris  a  golden  shower.  He  had  freed  the  state  from  embar- 
rassments, and  he  had,  apparently,  made  every  body  rich,  and  no 
one  poor.  He  was  a  deity,  as  beneficent  as  he  was  powerful.  He 
became  himself  the  richest  man  in  Europe.  Every  body  was 
intoxicated.  The  golden  age  had  come.  Paris  was  crowded  with 
strangers  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  Five  hundred  thousand 
strangers  expended  their  fortunes,  in  hope  of  making  greater  ones. 
Twelve  hundred  new  coaches  were  set  up  in  the  city.  Lodgings 
could  scarcely  be  had  for  money.     The  highest  price  was  paid  foj 


CHAP.  XXII.]  POPULAR   DELUSION.  363 

provisions.  Widow  ladies,  clergymen,  and  noblemen  deserted 
London  to  speculate  in  stocks  at  Paris.  Nothing  was  seen  but 
new  equipages,  new  houses,  new  apparel,  new  furniture.  Nothing 
was  felt  but  universal  exhilaration.  Every  man  seemed  to  have 
made  his  fortune.  The  stocks  rose  every  day.  The  higher  they 
rose,  the  more  new  stock  was  created.  At  last,  the  shares  of  the 
company  rose  from  one  hundred  to  twelve  hundred  per  cent.,  and 
three  hundred  millions  were  created,  which  were  nominally  worth, 
in  1719,  three  thousand  six  hundred  millions  of  livres — one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  times  the  amount  of  all  the  gold  and  silver  in 
Europe  at  that  time. 

In  this  public  delusion,  the  directors  were  wise  enough  to  con- 
vert their  shares  into  silver  and  gold.  A  great  part  of  the  current 
coin  in  the  kingdom  was  locked  up  in  the  houses  or  banks  of  a 
few  stockjobbers  and  speculators. 

But  the  scarcity  of  gold  and  silver  was  felt,  people's  eyes  were 
opened,  and  the  bubble  burst,  but  not  until  half  of  the  national 
debt  had  been  paid  off  by  this  swindling  transaction. 

The  nation  was  furious.  A  panic  spread  among  all  classes ; 
the  bank  had  no  money  with  which  to  redeem  its  notes ;  the 
shares  fell  almost  to  nothing ;  and  universal  bankruptcy  took  place. 
Those  who,  a  few  days  before,  fancied  themselves  rich,  now 
found  themselves  poor.  Property  of  all  kinds  fell  to  less  than  its 
original  value.  Houses,  horses,  carriages,  upholstery,  every  thing, 
declined  in  price.     All  were  sellers,  and  few  were  purchasers. 

But  popular  execration  and  vengeance  pursued  the  financier 
who  had  deceived  the  nation.  He  was  forced  to  fly  from  Paris. 
His  whole  property  was  confiscated,  and  he  was  reduced  to  indi- 
gence and  contempt.  When  his  scheme  was  first  suggested  to  the 
regent,  he  was  worth  three  millions  of  livres.  He  had  better 
remained  a  private  banker. 

The  bursting  of  the  Mississippi  bubble,  of  course,  inflamed  the 
nation  against  the  government,  and  the  Duke  of  Orleans  was  exe- 
crated, for  his  agency  in  the  business  had  all  the  appearance  of  a 
fraud.  But  he  was  probably  deluded  with  others,  and  hoped  to 
free  the  country  from  its  burdens.  The  great  blunder  was  in  the 
over-issue  of  notes  when  there  was  no  money  to  redeem  them. 

Nor  could  any  management  have  prevented  the  catastrophe. 


364  FATAL    EFFECTS    OF    THE    DELUSION.  [cHAP.  XXII. 

"  It  was  not  possible  that  the  shares  of  the  company  should  advance 
so  greatly,  and  the  public  not  perceive  that  they  had  advanced 
beyond  their  value  ;  it  was  not  possible,  that,  while  paper  money 
so  vastly  increased  in  quantity,  the  numerical  prices  of  all  other 
things  should  not  increase  also,  and  that  foreigners  who  sold  their 
manufactures  to  the  French  should  not  turn  their  paper  into  gold, 
and  carry  it  out  of  the  kingdom  ;  it  was  not  possible  that  the  dis- 
appearance of  the  coin  should  not  create  alarm,  notwithstanding 
the  edicts  of  the  regent,  and  the  reasonings  of  Law  ;  it  was  not 
possible  that  annuitants  should  not  discover  that  their  old  incomes 
were  now  insufficient  and  less  valuable,  as  the  medium  in  which 
they  were  paid  was  less  valuable  ;  it  was  not  possible  that  the  small 
part  of  society  which  may  be  called  the  sober  and  reasoning  part, 
should  not  be  so  struck  with  the  sudden  fortunes  and  extravagant 
enthusiasm  which  prevailed,  as  not  to  doubt  of  the  solidity  of  a 
system,  unphilosophical  in  itself,  and  which,  after  all,  had  to  depend 
on  the  profits  of  a  commercial  company,  the  good  faith  of  the 
regent,  and  the  skill  of  Law ;  it  was  impossible,  on  these  and  other 
accounts,  but  that  gold  and  silver  should  be  at  last  preferred  to 
paper  notes,  of  whatever  description  or  promise.  These  were 
inevitable  consequences.  Hence  the  failure  of  the  scheme  of 
Law,  and  the  ruin  of  all  who  embarked  in  it,  owing  to  a  change 
in  public  opinion  as  to  the  probable  success  of  the  scheme,  and, 
secondly,  the  over-issue  of  money." 

By  this  great  folly,  four  hundred  thousand  families  were  ruined, 
or  greatly  reduced;  but  the  government  got  rid  of  about  eight 
hundred  millions  of  debts.  The  sufferings  of  the  people,  with 
such  a  government,  did  not,  however,  create  great  solicitude  ;  the 
same  old  course  of  folly  and  extravagance  was  pursued  by  the 
court 

Nor  was  there  a  change  for  the  better  when  Louis  XV.  attained 
his  majority.  HLs  vices  and  follies  exceeded  all  that  had  ever 
been  displayed  before.  The  support  of  his  mistresses  alone  was 
enough  to  embarrass  the  nation.  Their  waste  and  extravagance 
almost  exceeded  belief.  Who  has  not  heard  of  the  disgraceful 
and  disgusting  iniquities  of  Pompadour  and  Du  Barry  ? 

The  regency  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans  occupied  the  first  eight 
years  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XV.     The  prime  minister  of  the  regent 


fflT' 


CHAP.  XXII.]       ADMINISTRATION    OF    CARDINAL    FLEURY.  365 

was  Dubois,  at  first  his  tutor,  and  afterwards  Archbishop  of  Cam- 
hray.  He  was  rewarded  with  a  eardinaPs  hat  for  the  service  he 
rendered  to  the  Jesuits  in  their  quarrel  with  the  Jansenists,  but  was 
a  man  of  unprincipled  character ;  a  fit  minister  to  a  prince  who 
pretended  to  be  too  intellectual  to  worship  God,  and  who  copied 
Henry  IV.  only  in  his  licentiousness. 

The  first  minister  of  Louis  XV.,  after  he  assumed  himself  the 
reins  of  government,  was  the  Duke  of  Bourbon,  lineal  heir  of  the 
house  of  Conde,  and  first  prince  of  the  blood.  But  he  was  a  man 
of  no  character,  and  his  short  administration  was  signalized  by  no 
important  event. 

Cardinal  Fleury  succeeded  the  Duke  of  Bourbon  as  prime  min- 
ister. He  had  been  preceptor  of  the  king,  and  was  superior  to  all 
the  intrigues  of  the  court ;  a  man  of  great  timidity,  but  also  a  man 
of  great  probity,  gentleness,  and  benignity.  Fortunately,  he  was 
intrusted  with  power  at  a  period  of  great  domestic  tranquillity,  and 
his  administration  was,  like  that  of  Walpole,  pacific.  He  project- 
ed, however,  no  schemes  of  useful  reform,  and  made  no  improve- 
ments in  laws  or  finance.  But  he  ruled  despotically,  and  with 
good  intentions,  from  1726  to  1743. 

The  most  considerable  subject  of  interest  connected  with  his 
peaceful  administration,  was  the  quarrel  between  the  Jesuits  and 
the  Jansenists.  Fleury  took  the  side  of  the  former,  although  he 
was  never  an  active  partisan ;  and  he  was  induced  to  support  the 
Jesuits  for  the  sake  of  securing  the  cardinal's  hat  —  the  highest 
honor,  next  to  that  of  the  tiara,  which  could  be  conferred  on  an 
ecclesiastic.  The  Jesuits  upheld  the  crumbling  power  of  the  popes, 
and  the  popes  rewarded  the  advocates  of  that  body  of  men,  who 
were  their  ablest  supporters. 

The  Jansenist  controversy  is  too  important  to  be  passed  over 
with  a  mere  allusion.  It  was  the  great  event  in  the  histoiy  of 
Catholic  Europe  during  the  seventeenth  century.  It  involved  prin- 
ciples of  great  theological,  and  even  political  interest. 

The  Jansenist  controversy  grew  out  of  the  long-disputed  ques- 
tions pertaining  to  grace  and  free  will  —  questions  which  were 
agitated  with  great  spirit  and  acrimony  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
as  they  had  previously  been  centuries  before  by  Augustine  and 
Pelagius.  The  Jesuits  had  never  agreed  with  the  great  oracle  of 
31* 


360  CORNELIUS    JANSEN.  [cHAP.  XXII. 

the  Western  church  in  his  views  on  certain  points,  and  it  was  their 
aim  to  show  the  absolute  freedom  of  the  human  will  —  that  it  had 
a  self-determining  power,  a  perfect  liberty  to  act  or  not  to  act. 
Molina,  a  Spanish  Jesuit,  had  been  a  great  defender  of  this  ancient 
Pelagianism,  and  his  views  were  opposed  by  the  Dominicans, 
and  the  controversy  was  carried  into  all  the  universities  of  Europe. 
The  Council  of  Trent  was  too  wise  to  meddle  with  this  difficult 
question  5  but  angry  theologians  would  not  let  it  rest,  and  it  was 
discussed  with  peculiar  fervor  in  the  Catholic  University  of  Lou- 
vaine.  Among  the  doctors  who  there  distinguished  themselves  in 
reviving  the  great  contest  of  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries,  were  • 
Cornelius  Jansen  of  Holland,  and  Jean  de  Verger  of  Gascony. 
Both  these  doctors  hated  the  Jesuits,  and  lamented  the  danger- 
ous doctrines  which  they  defended,  and  advocated  the  views  of 
Augustine  and  the  Calvinists.  Jansen  became  professor  of  divinity 
in  the  university,  and  then  Bishop  of  Ypres.  After  an  uninter- 
rupted study  of  twenty  years,  he  produced  his  celebrated  book, 
called  Augustinus,  in  which  he  set  forth  the  servitude  of  the  will, 
and  the  necessity  of  divine  grace  to  break  the  bondage,  which, 
however,  he  maintained,  like  Calvin,  is  imparted  only  to  a  few, 
and  in  pursuance  of  a  decree  existing  in  the  divine  mind  before 
the  creation  of  our  species.  But  Jansen  died  before  the  book  was 
finished,  and  two  years  elapsed  before  it  was  published,  but,  when 
published,  it  was  the  signal  for  a  contest  which  distracted  Europe 
for  seventy  years. 

While  Jansen  was  preparing  this  work,  his  early  companion  and 
friend,  De  Verger,  a  man  of  family  and  rank,  had  become  abbot 
of  the  monastery  of  St.  Cyran  in  Paris,  and  had  formed,  in  the 
centre  of  that  gay  city,  a  learned  and  ascetic  hermitage.  This 
was  during  the  reign  of  Louis  XIII.  His  reputation,  as  a  scholar 
and  a  saint,  attracted  the  attention  of  Richelieu,  and  his  services 
were  solicited  by  that  able  minister.  But  neither  rewards,  nor 
flatteries,  nor  applause  had  power  over  the  mind  of  St.  Cyran, 
as  he  was  now  called.  The  cardinal  hated  and  Icared  a  man 
whom  he  could  not  bribe  or  win,  and  soon  found  means  to  quarrel 
with  him,  and  sent  him  to  the  gloomy  fortress  of  Vincennes.  But 
there,  in  his  prison,  he  devoted  himself,  with  renewed  ardor,  to  his 
studies  and  duties,  subduing  his  appetites  and  passions  by  an  ascet- 


CHAP.  XXII.]        ST.    CYRAN ARNAULD LE    MAITEE.  367 

icism  which  even  his  church  did  not  require,  and  devoting  all  his 
thoughts  and  words  to  the  service  of  God.  Like  Calvin  and 
Augustine,  he  had  so  profound  a  conception  of  the  necessity  of  an 
inward  change,  that  he  made  grace  precede  repentance.  A  man 
so  serene  in  trial,  so  humble  in  spirit,  so  natural  and  childlike  in 
ordinary  life,  and  yet  so  distinguished  for  talents  and  erudition, 
could  not  help  exciting  admiration,  and  making  illustrious  prose- 
lytes. Among  them  was  Arnauld  D'Antilly,  the  intimate  friend 
of  Richelieu  and  Anne  of  Austria ;  Le  Maitre,  the  most  eloquent 
lawyer  and  advocate  in  France ;  and  Angelique  Arnauld,  the 
abbess  of  Port  Royal.  This  last  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
ladies  of  her  age,  noble  by  birth,  and  still  more  noble  by  her  beau- 
tiful qualities  of  mind  and  heart.  She  had  been  made  abbess  of 
her  Cistercian  convent  at  the  age  of  eleven  years,  and  at  that 
time  was  gay,  social,  and  light-hearted.  The  preaching  of  a 
Capuchin  friar  had  turned  her  thoughts  to  the  future  world,  and 
she  closed  the  gates  of  her  beautiful  abbey,  in  the  vale  of  Chev- 
reuse,  against  all  strangers,  and  devoted  herself  to  the  ascetic 
duties  which  her  church  and  age  accounted  most  meritorious.  She 
soon  after  made  the  acquaintance  of  St.  Cyran,  and  he  imbued 
her  mind  with  the  principles  of  the  Augustinian  theology.  When 
imprisoned  at  Vincennes,  he  was  still  the  spiritual  father  of  Port 
Royal.  Amid  this  famous  retreat  were  collected  the  greatest 
scholars  and  the  greatest  saints  of  the  seventeenth  century  — 
Antoine  Le  Maitre,  De  Lericourt,  Le  Maitre  de  Saci,  Antoine 
Arnauld,  and  Pascal  himself.  Le  Maitre  de  Saci  gave  to  the 
world  the  best  translation  of  the  Bible  in  French ;  Arnauld  wrote 
one  hundred  volumes  of  controversy,  and,  among  them,  a  noted 
satire  on  the  Jesuits,  which  did  them  infinite  harm  ;  while  Pascal, 
besides  his  wonderful  mathematical  attainments,  and  his  various 
meditative  works,  is  immortalized  for  his  Provincial  Letters,  writ- 
ten in  the  purest  French,  and  with  matchless  power  and  beauty. 
This  work,  directed  against  the  Jesuits,  is  an  inimitable  model  of 
elegant  irony,  and  the  most  effective  sarcasm  probably  ever  elab- 
orated by  man.  In  the  vale  of  Port  Royal  also  dwelt  Tillemont, 
the  great  ecclesiastical  historian ;  Fontaine  and  Racine,  who  were 
controlled  by  the  spirit  of  Arnauld,  as  well  as  the  Prince  of  Conti, 
and  the  Duke  of  Liancourt.     There  resided,  under  the  name  of 


368  THE    LABORS    OF    THE    PORT    ROYALISTS.     [cHAP.  XXII. 

Le  Mercicr,  and  in  the  humble  occupation  of  a  gardener,  one  of 
the  proudest  nobles  of  the  French  court ;  and  there,  too,  dwelt  the 
celebrated  Duchess  of  Longueville,  sister  of  the  Prince  of  Conde, 
the  life  of  the  Fronde,  the  idol  of  the  Parisian  mob,  and  the  once 
gay  patroness  of  the  proudest  festivities. 

But  it  is  the  labors  of  these  saints,  scholars,  and  nobles  to 
repress  the  dangerous  influence  of  the  Jesuits  for  which  they  were 
most  distinguished.  The  Jansenists  of  Port  Royal  did  not  deny  the 
authority  of  the  pope,  nor  the  great  institutions  of  the  papacy. 
They  sought  chiefly,  in  their  controversy  with  the  Jesuits,  to 
enforce  the  doctrines  of  Augustine  respecting  justification.  But 
their  efforts  were  not  agreeable  to  the  popes,  nor  1X)  the  doctors  of 
the  Sorbonne,  who  had  no  sympathy  with  their  religious  life,  and 
detested  their  bold  spirit  of  inquiry.  The  doctors  of  the  Sorbonne, 
accordingly,  extracted  from  the  book  of  Jansen  five  propositions 
which  they  deemed  heretical,  and  urged  the  pope  to  condemn 
them.  The  Port  Royalists  admitted  that  these  five  propositions 
were  indefensible  if  they  were  declared  heretical  by  the  sovereign 
pontiff*,  but  denied  that  they  were  actually  to  be  found  in  the  book 
of  Jansen.  They  did  not  quarrel  with  the  pope  on  grounds  of 
faith.  They  recognized  his  infallibility  in  matters  of  religion,  but 
not  in  matters  of  fact.  The  pope,  not  wishing  to  push  things  to 
extremity,  which  never  was  the  policy  of  Rome,  pretended  to  be 
satisfied.  But  the  Jesuits  would  not  let  him  rest,  and  insisted 
on  the  condemnation  of  the  Jansenist  opinions.  The  case  was 
brought  before  a  great  council  of  French  bishops  and  doctors,  and 
Arnauld,  the  great  champion  of  the  Jansenists,  was  voted  guilty 
of  heresy  for  denying  that  the  five  propositions  which  the  pope 
condemned  were  actually  in  the  book  of  Jansen.  The  pope, 
moreover,  was  induced  to  issue  a  formula  of  an  oath,  to  which  all 
who  wished  to  enjoy  any  office  in  the  church  were  obliged  to 
subscribe,  and  which  affirmed  that  the  five  condemned  propositions 
were  actually  to  be  found  in  Jansen's  book.  This  act  of  the  pope 
was  justly  regarded  by  the  Jansenists  as  intolerably  despotic,  and 
many  of  the  most  respectable  of  the  French  clergy  sided  with 
them  in  opinion.  All  France  now  became  interested  in  the  con- 
troversy, and  it  soon  led  to  great  commotions.  The  Jansenists 
then  contended  that  the  pope  might  err  in  questions  of  fact,  and 


CHAT.  XXII.]  PRINCIPLES    OF   JANSENISM.  369 

that,  therefore,  they  were  not  under  an  obligation  to  subscribe  to 
the  required  oath.  The  Jesuits,  on  the  other  hand,  maintained 
the  pope's  infalHbility  in  matters  of  fact,  as  well  as  in  doctrine ; 
and,  as  they  had  the  most  powerful  adherents,  the  Jansenists  were 
bitterly  persecuted.  But,  as  twenty-two  bishops  were  found  to 
take  their  side,  the  matter  was  hushed  up  for  a  while.  For  ten 
years  more,  the  Port  Royalists  had  peace  and  protection,  chiefly 
through  the  great  influence  of  the  Duchess  of  Longueville ;  but, 
on  her  death,  persecution  returned.  Arnauld  was  obliged  to  fly 
to  the  Netherlands,  and  the  beautiful  abbey  of  Port  Royal  was 
despoiled  of  its  lands  and  privileges.  Louis  XIV.  had  ever  hated 
its  inmates,  being  ruled  by  Madame  de  Maintenon,  who,  in  turn, 
was  a  tool  of  the  Jesuits. 

But  the  demolition  of  the  abbey,  the  spoliation  of  its  lands, 
and  the  dispersion  of  those  who  sought  its  retreat,  did  not  stop  the 
controversy.  Pascal  continued  it,  and  wrote  his  Provincial  Letters, 
which  had  a  wonderful  effect  in  making  the  Jesuits  both  ridiculous 
and  hateful.  That  book  was  the  severest  blow  this  body  of  am- 
bitious and  artful  casuists  ever  received. 

Nor  was  the  Jansenist  controversy  merely  a  discussion  of  grace 
and  free  will.  The  principles  of  Jansenism,  when  carried  out, 
tended  to  secure  independence  to  the  national  church,  and  to  free 
the  consciences  of  men  from  the  horrible  power  of  their  spiritual 
confessors.  Jansenism  was  a  timid  protest  against  spiritual  tyr- 
anny, a  mild  kind  of  Puritanism,  which  found  sympathy  with 
many  people  in  France.  The  Parliament  of  Paris  caught  the 
spirit  of  freedom,  and  protected  the  Jansenists  and  those  who 
sympathized  with  them.  It  so  happened  that  a  certain  bishop 
published  a  charge  to  his  clergy  which  was  strongly  imbued  with 
the  independent  doctrines  of  the  Jansenists.  He  was  tried  and 
condemned  by  a  provincial  council,  and  banished  by  the  govern- 
ment. The  Parliament  of  Paris,  as  the  guardian  of  the  law,  took 
up  the  quarrel,  and  Cardinal  Fleury  was  obliged  to  resort  to  a  Bed 
of  Justice  in  order  to  secure  the  registry  of  a  decree.  A  Bed  of 
Justice  was  the  personal  appearance  of  the  sovereign  in  the 
supreme  judicial  tribunal  of  the  nation,  and  his  command  to  the 
members  of  it  to  obey  his  injunctions  was  the  last  resort  of  abso- 
lute power.     The  parliament,  of  course,  obeyed,  but  protested  the 

Z 


370  FUNCTIONS    OF    THE   PARLIAMENT.  [cHAP.  XXII. 

next  day,  and  drew  up  resolutions  which  declared  the  temporal 
power  to  be  independent  of  the  spiritual.  It  then  proceeded  to 
Meudon,  one  of  the  royal  palaces,  to  lay  its  remonstrance  before 
the  king ;  and  Louis  XV.,  indignant  and  astonished,  refused  to  see 
the  members.  The  original  controversy  was  forgotten,  and  the 
cause  of  the  parliament,  which  was  the  cause  of  liberty,  became 
the  cause  of  the  nation.  The  resistance  of  the  parliament  was 
technically  unsuccessful,  yet,  nevertheless,  sowed  the  seeds  of 
popular  discontent,  and  contributed  to  that  great  insurrection 
which  finally  overturned  the  throne. 

It  may  be  asked  how  the  Parliament  of  Paris  became  a  judicial 
tribunal,  rather  than  a  legislative  assembly,  as  in  England.  When 
the  Justinian  code  was  introduced  into  French  jurisprudence,  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  Middle  Ages,  the  old  feudal  and  clerical 
judges — ^the  barons  and  bishops  —  were  incapable  of  expounding 
it,  and  a  new  class  of  men  arose  —  the  lawyers,  whose  exclusive 
business  it  was  to  study  the  laws.  Being  best  acquainted  with 
them,  they  entered  upon  the  functions  of  judges,  and  the  secular 
and  clerical  lords  yielded  to  their  opinions.  The  great  barons, 
however,  still  continued  to  sit  in  the  judicial  tribunals,  although 
ignorant  of  the  new  jurisprudence ;  and  their  decisions  were 
directed  by  the  opinions  of  the  lawyers  who  had  obtained  a  seat 
in  their  body,  as  is  the  case  at  present  in  the  English  House  of 
Lords  when  it  sits  as  a  judicial  body.  The  necessity  of  providing 
some  permanent  repository  for  the  royal  edicts,  induced  the  kings 
of  France  to  enroll  them  in  the  journals  of  the  courts  of  parlia- 
ment, being  the  highest  judicial  tribunal ;  and  the  members  of  these 
courts  gradually  availed  themselves  of  this  custom  to  dispute  the 
legality  of  any  edict  which  had  not  been  thus  registered.  As 
the  influence  of  the  States  General  declined,  the  power  of  the 
parliament  increased.  The  encroachments  of  the  papacy  first 
engaged  its  attention,  and  then  the  management  of  the  finances  by 
the  ministers  of  Francis  I.  called  forth  remonstrances.  During 
the  war  of  the  Fronde,  the  parliament  absolutely  refused  to  regis- 
ter the  royal  decrees.  But  Louis  XIV.  was  sufficiently  powerful 
to  suppress  the  spirit  of  independence,  and  accordingly  entered 
the  court,  during  the  first  years  of  his  reign,  with  a  whip  in  his 
hand,  and   compelled   it   to  register  his  edicts.      Nor   did   any 


CHAP.  XXII.]  THE    BULL    UNIGENITUS.  273 

murmur  afterwards  escape  the  body,  until,  at  the  close  of  his  reign, 
thjB  members  opposed  the  bull  Unigenitus  —  that  which  cop 
demned  the  Jansenists  —  as  an  infringement  of  the  hberties  of  the 
Galilean  Church.  And  no  sooner  had  the  great  monarch  died, 
than,  contrary  to  his  will,  they  vested  the  regency  in  the  hands  of 
the  Duke  of  Orleans.  Then  freedom  of  expostulation  respecting 
the  ruinous  schemes  of  Law  induced  him  to  banish  them,  and 
they  only  obtained  their  recall  by  degrading  concessions.  Their 
next  opposition  was  during  the  administration  of  Fleury.  The 
minister  of  finance  made  an  attempt  to  inquire  into  the  wealth  of 
the  clergy,  which  raised  the  jealousy  of  the  order  ;  and  the  clergy, 
in  order  to  divert  the  attention  of  the  court,  revived  the  opposition 
of  the  parliament  to  the  bull  Unigenitus.  It  was  resolved  by 
the  clergy  to  demand  confessional  notes  from  dying  persons,  and 
that  these  notes  should  be  signed  by  priests  adhering  to  the  bull, 
before  extreme  unction  should  be  given.  The  Archbishop  of 
Paris,  at  the  head  of  the  French  clergy,  was  opposed  by  the  par- 
liament, and  this  high  judicial  court  imprisoned  such  of  the  clergy 
as  refused  to  administer  the  sacraments.  The  king,  under  the 
guidance  of  Fleury,  forbade  the  parliament  to  take  cognizance  of 
ecclesiastical  proceedings,  and  to  suspend  its  prosecutions.  In- 
stead of  acquiescing,  the  parliament  presented  new  remonstrances, 
and  the  members  refused  to  attend  to  any  other  functions,  and 
resolved  that  they  could  not  obey  this  injunction  without  violating 
their  consciences.  They  cited  the  Bishop  of  Orleans  before  their 
tribunal,  and  ordered  all  his  writings,  which  denied  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  court,  to  be  publicly  burnt  by  the  executioner.  By  aid 
of  the  military,  the  parliament  enforced  the  administration  of  the 
sacraments,  and  became  so  interested  in  the  controversy  as  to 
neglect  other  official  duties.  The  king,  indignant,  again  banished 
the  members,  with  the  exception  of  four,  whom  he  imprisoned. 
And,  in  order  not  to  impede  the  administration  of  justice,  the  king 
established  another  tribunal  for  the  prosecution  of  civil  suits.  But 
the  lawyers,  sympathizing  with  the  parliament,  refused  to  plead 
before  the  new  cotirt.  This  resolute  conduct,  and  other  evils 
happening  at  the  time,  induced  the  king  to  yield,  in  order  to  con- 
ciliate the  people,  and  the  parliament  was  recalled.  This  wa 
a  popular  triumph,  and  the  archbishop  was  banished  in  his  turn. 


372  MADAME   DE   POMPADOUR.  [cHAP.  XXII. 

Shortly  after,  Cardinal  Fleury  died,  and  a  new  policy  was  adopted. 
The  quarrel  of  the  parliament  and  the  clergy  was  forgotten  m  a 
still  greater  quarrel  between  the  king  and  the  Jesuits. 

The  policy  of  Fleury,  like  that  of  Walpole,  was  pacific ;  and 
yet,  like  him,  he  was  forced  into  a  war  against  his  own  convictions. 
And  success  attended  the  arms  of  France,  in  the  colonial  struggle 
with  England,  until  Pitt  took  the  helm  of  state. 

Until  the  death  of  Fleury,  in  1743,  who  administered  affairs 
with  wisdom,  moderation,  and  incorruptible  integrity,  he  was  be- 
loved, if  he  was  not  venerated.  But  after  this  event,  a  great 
change  took  place  in  his  character  and  measures,  and  the  reign 
of  mistresses  commenced,  and  to  an  extent  unparalleled  in  the 
history  of  Europe.  Louis  XIV.  bestowed  the  revenue  of  the  state 
on  unworthy  favorites,  yet  never  allowed  them  to  govern  the 
nation ;  but  Louis  XV.  intrusted  the  most  important  state  matters 
to  their  direction,  and  the  profoundest  state  secrets  to  their 
keeping. 

Among  these  mistresses,  Madame  de  Pompadour  was  the  most 
noted  ;  a  woman  of  talent,  but  abominably  unprincipled.  Ambi- 
tion was  her  master-passion,  and  her  boudoir  was  the  council  cham- 
ber of  the  royal  ministers.  Most  of  the  great  men  of  France 
paid  court  to  her,  and  to  neglect  her  was  social  ruin.  Even  Vol- 
taire praised  her  beauty,  and  Montesquieu  flattered  her  intellect. 
And  her  extravagance  was  equal  to  her  audacity.  She  insisted  on 
drawing  bills  on  the  treasury  without  specifying  the  service.  The 
comptroller-general  was  in  despair,  and  the  state  was  involved  in 
inextricable  embarrassments. 

It  was  through  her  influence  that  the  Duke  de  Choiseul  was 
made  the  successor  of  Fleury.  He  was  not  deficient  in  talent ; 
but  his  administration  proved  unfortunate.  Under  his  rule,  Louis 
lost  the  Canadas,  and  France  plunged  into  a  contest  with  Frederic 
the  Great.  The  Seven  Years'  War,  which  occurred  during  his 
administration,  had  made  the  age  an  epoch  ;  but  as  this  is  to  be 
considered  in  the  chapter  on  Frederic  III.,  no  notice  of  it  will 
be  taken  in  this  connection. 

The  most  memorable  event  which  arose  out  of  the  policy  and 
conduct  of  Choiseul  was  the  fall  of  the  Jesuits. 

Their  arts  and  influence  had  obtained  from  the  pope  the  bull 


CHAP.  XXII.]  THE   JESUITS.  373 

Unigenitus,  designed  to  suppress  their  enemies,  the  Jansenists ; 
and  the  king,  governed  by  Fleury,  had  taken  their  side. 

But  they  were  so  unwise  as  to  quarrel  with  the  powerful  mistress 
of  Louis  XV.  They  despised  her,  and  defied  her  hatred.  Indeed, 
the  Jesuits  had  cUmbed  to  so  great  a  height  that  they  were  scornful 
of  popular  clamor,  and  even  of  regal  distrust.  But  there  is  no 
man,  and  no  body  of  men,  who  can  venture  to  provoke  enmity 
with  impunity ;  and  destruction  often  comes  from  a  source  the 
least  suspected,  and  apparently  the  least  to  be  feared.  Who  could 
have  supposed  that  the  ruin  of  this  powerful  body,  which  had 
reigned  so  proudly  in  Christendom  for  a  century ;  which  had 
imposed  its  Briareus's  arms  on  the  necks  of  princes  ;  which  had 
its  confessors  in  the  courts  of  the  most  absolute  monarchs  ;  which, 
with  its  hundred  eyes,  had  penetrated  the  secrets  of  all  the  cab- 
inets of  Europe  ;  and  which  had  succeeded  in  suppressing  in  so 
many  places  every  insurrection  of  human  intelligence,  in  spite  of 
the  fears  of  kings,  the  jealousy  of  the  other  monastic  orders,  and 
the  inveterate  animosity  of  philosophers  and  statesmen,  —  would 
receive  a  fatal  wound  from  the  hands  of  a  woman,  who  scandal- 
ized by  her  vices  even  the  depraved  court  of  an  enervated  prince  ? 
But  so  it  was.  Madame  de  Pompadour  hated  the  Jesuits  because 
they  attempted  to  undermine  her  influence  with  the  king.  And 
she  incited  the  prime  minister,  whom  she  had  raised  by  her  arts 
to  power,  to  unite  with  Pombal  in  Portugal,  in  order  to  effect  their 
ruin. 

In  no  country  was  the  power  of  the  Jesuits  more  irresistible 
than  in  Portugal.  There  their  ascendency  was  complete.  But 
the  prime  minister  of  Joseph  I.,  the  Marquis  of  Pombal,  a  man 
of  great  energy,  had  been  insulted  by  a  lady  of  the  highest  rank, 
and  he  swore  revenge.  An  opportunity  was  soon  afforded.  The 
king  happened  to  be  fired  at  and  wounded  in  his  palace  by  some 
unknown  enemy.  The  blow  was  aimed  at  the  objects  of  the  minis- 
ter's vengeance  —  the  Marchioness  of  Tavora,  her  husband,  her 
family,  and  her  friends  the  Jesuits.  And  royal  vengeance  fol- 
lowed, not  merely  on  an  illustrious  family,  but  on  those  persons 
whom  this  family  befriended.  The  Jesuits  were  expelled  in  the 
most  summary  manner  from  the  kingdom.  The  Duke  de  Choiseul 
and  Madame  Pompadour  hailed  their  misfortunes  with  delight,  and 
32 


374  EXPOSURE    OF   THE    JESUIT'S.  [cHAP.  XXII. 

watched  their  opportunity  for  revenge.  This  was  afforded  by  the 
failure  of  La  Valette,  the  head  of  the  Jesuits  at  Martinique.  It 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Jesuits  had  embarked  in  commer- 
cial enterprises,  while  they  were  officiating  as  missionaries.  La 
Valette  aimed  to  monopolize,  for  his  order,  the  trade  with  the 
West  Indies,  which  commercial  ambition  excited  the  jealousy  of 
mercantile  classes  in  France,  and  they  threw  difficulties  in  his 
way.  And  it  so  happened  that  some  of  his  most  valuable  ships 
were  taken  and  plundered  by  the  English  cruisers,  which  calamity, 
happening  at  a  time  of  embarrassment,  caused  his  bills  to  be  pro- 
tested, and  his  bankers  to  stop  payment.  They,  indignant,  accused 
the  Jesuits,  as  a  body,  of  peculation  and  fraud,  and  demanded 
repayment  from  the  order.  Had  the  Jesuits  been  wise,  they 
would  have  satisfied  the  ruined  bankers.  But  who  is  wise  on  the 
brink  of  destruction  ?  "  Quem  deus  vull  perdere,  prius  dementaty 
The  Jesuits  refused  to  sacrifice  La  Valette  to  the  interests  of  their 
order,  which  course  would  have  been  in  accordance  with  their 
general  policy.  The  matter  was  carried  before  the  Parliament  of 
Paris,  and  the  whole  nation  was  interested  in  its  result.  It  was 
decided  by  this  supreme  judicial  tribunal,  that  the  Jesuits  were 
responsible  for  the  debts  of  La  Valette.  But  the  commercial 
injury  was  weak  in  comparison  with  the  moral.  In  the  course  of 
legal  proceedings,  the  books  and  rule  of  the  Jesuits  were  demand- 
ed—  that  mysterious  rule  which  had  never  been  exposed  to  the 
public  eye,  and  which  had  been  so  carefully  guarded.  When  this 
rule  was  produced,  all  minor  questions  vanished ;  mistresses, 
bankruptcies,  politics,  finances,  wars,  —  all  became  insignificant, 
compared  with  those  questions  which  affected  the  position  and 
welfare  of  the  society.  Pascal  became  a  popular  idol,  and  "  Tar- 
tuffe  grew  pale  before  Escobar."  The  reports  of  the  trial  lay  on 
every  toilet  table,  and  persons  of  both  sexes,  and  of  all  ages 
and  conditions,  read  with  avidity  the  writings  of  the  casuists. 
Nothing  was  talked  about  but  "  probability,"  "  surrender  of  con- 
science," and  "  mental  reservations."  Philosophers  grew  jealous 
of  the  absorbing  interest  with  which  every  thing  pertaining  to  the 
regime  of  the  Jesuits  was  read,  and  of  the  growing  popularity  of 
the  Jansenists,  who  had  exposed  it.  "  What,"  said  Voltaire,  "  will 
It  profit  us  to  be  delivered  from  the  foxes,  if  we  are  to  be  given 


CHAP.  XXII.]  THEIR   EXPULSION    FROM    FRANCE.  375 

up  to  the  wolves  ?  "  But  the  philosopher  had  been  among  the  first 
to  raise  the  cry  of  alarm  against  the  Jesuits,  and  it  was  no  easy 
thing  to  allay  the  storm. 

The  Jesuits,  in  their  distress,  had  only  one  friend  sufficiently 
powerful  to  protect  them,  and  he  was  the  king.  He  had  been 
their  best  friend,  and  he  still  wished  to  coma  to  their  rescue.  He 
had  been  taught  to  honor  them,  and  he  had  learned  to  fear  them. 
He  stood  in  fear  of  assassination,  and  dreaded  a  rupture  with  so 
powerful  and  unscrupulous  a  body.  And  his  resistance  to  the 
prosecution  would  have  been  insurmountable,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  capriciousness  of  his  temper,  which  more  than  balanced  his 
superstitious  fears.  His  minister  and  his  mistress  circumvented 
him.  They  represented  that,  as  the  parliament  and  the  nation 
were  both  aroused  against  the  Jesuits,  his  resistance  would  neces- 
sarily provoke  a  new  Fronde.  Nothing  he  dreaded  so  much  as 
civil  war.  The  wavering  monarch,  placed  in  the  painful  necessity 
of  choosing,  as  he  supposed,  between  a  war  and  the  ruin  of  his 
best  friends,  yielded  to  the  solicitations  of  his  artful  advisers.  But 
he  yielded  with  a  moderation  which  did  him  honor.  He  would 
not  consent  to  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  until  efforts  had  been 
made  to  secure  their  reform.  He  accordingly  caused  letters  to  be 
written  to  Rome,  demanding  an  immediate  attention  to  the  subject. 
Choiseul  himself  prepared  the  scheme  of  reformation.  But  the 
Jesuits  would  not  hear  of  any  retrenchment  of  their  power  or 
privileges.  "  Let  us  remain  as  we  are,  or  let  us  exist  no  longer," 
was  their  reply.  The  parliament,  the  people,  the  minister,  and 
the  mistress  renewed  their  clamors.  The  parliament  decreed  that 
the  constitution  of  the  society  was  an  encroachment  on  the  royal 
authority,  and  the  king  was  obliged  to  yield.  The  members  of 
the  society  were  forbidden  to  wear  the  habit  of  the  society,  or  to 
enjoy  any  clerical  office  or  dignity.  Their  colleges  were  closed, 
their  order  was  dissolved,  and  they  were  expelled  from  the  king- 
dom with  rigor  and  severity,  in  spite  of  the  wishes  of  the  king, 
and  many  entreaties  and  tears  from  the  zealous  advocates  of 
Catholicism,  and  even  of  religious  education. 

But  the  Jesuits  were  too  powerful,  even  in  their  misfortunes,  to 
be  persecuted  without  the  effort  to  annihilate  tnem.  Having 
secured  their  expulsion  from  France  and  Portugal,  Choiseul  and 


876  SUPPRESSION    IN    SPAIN.  [cHAP.  XXil. 

Pombal  urned  their  attention  to  Spain,  and  so  successfully  in- 
trigued, so  artfully  wrought  on  the  jealousy  and  fears  of  Charles 
III.,  that  this  weak  prince  followed  the  example  of  Joseph  I.  and 
Louis  XV.  But  the  king  and  his  minister  D'Aranda,  however, 
prosecuted  their  investigations  with  the  utmost  secrecy  —  did  pot 
even  tell  their  allies  of  their  movements.  Of  course,  the  Jesuits 
feared  nothing  from  the  king  of  Spain.  But  when  his  measures 
were  completed,  an  edict  was  suddenly  declared,  decreeing  the 
suppression  of  the  order  in  the  land  of  Inquisitions.  The  decree 
came  like  a  thunderbolt,  but  was  instantly  executed.  "  On  the 
same  day,  2d  April,  1767,  and  at  the  same  hour,  in  Spain,  in 
Africa,  in  Asia,  in  America,  and  in  all  the  islands  belonging  to  the 
Spanish  monarchy,  the  alcaldes  of  the  towns  opened  their  de- 
spatches from  Madrid,  by  which  they  were  ordered,  on  pain  of  the 
severest  penalties,  immediately  to  enter  the  establishments  of  the 
Jesuits,  to  seize  their  persons,  expel  them  from  their  convents, 
and  transport  them,  within  twenty-four  hours,  to  such  places  as 
were  designated.  Nor  were  the  Jesuits  permitted  to  carry  away 
their  money  or  their  papers.  Only  a  purse,  a  breviary,  and  some 
apparel  were  given  them." 

The  government  feared  a  popular  insurrection  from  an  excite- 
ment so  sudden,  and  a  persecution  so  dreadful,  and  therefore 
issued  express  prohibition  to  all  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  to  pre- 
vent any  allusion  to  the  event  from  the  pulpit.  All  classes  were 
required  to  maintain  absolute  silence,  and  any  controversy,  or 
criticism,  or  remark  was  regarded  as  high  treason.  Such  is  des- 
potism. Such  is  religious  persecution,  when  fear,  as  well  as  hatred, 
prompts  to  injustice  and  cruelty. 

The  Jesuits,  in  their  misfortunes,  managed  with  consummate 
craft.  Their  policy  was  to  appear  in  the  light  of  victims  of  per- 
secution. There  was  to  them  no  medium  between  reigning  as 
despots  or  dying  as  martyrs.  Mediocrity  would  have  degraded 
them.  Ricci,  the  general  of  the  order,  would  not  permit  them  to 
land  in  Italy,  to  which  country  they  were  sent  by  the  king  of  Spain, 
Six  thousand  priests,  in  misery  and  poverty,  were  sent  adrift  upon 
the  Mediterranean,  and  after  six  months  of  vicissitude,  suffering, 
and  despair,  they  found  a  miserable  refuge  on  the  Island  of  Corsica. 

Soon  after,  the  pope,  their  most  powerful  protector,  died.     A 


CHAP.  XXII.]  POPE    CLEMENT    XIV.  377 

successor  was  to  be  appointed.  But  France,  Spain,  and  Portugal, 
bent  on  the  complete  suppression  of  the  Jesuits,  resolved  that  no 
pope  should  be  elected  who  would  not  favor  their  end.  A  cardinal 
was  found,  —  Ganganelli,  —  who  promised  the  ambassadors  that, 
if  elected  pope,  he  would  abolish  the  order.  They,  accordingly, 
intrigued  to  secure  his  election.  The  Jesuits,  also,  strained  every 
nerve,  and  put  forth  marvellous  talent  and  art,  to  secure  a  pope 
who  would  protect  them.  But  the  ambassadors  of  the  allied  powers 
overreached  even  the  Jesuits.  Ganganelli  was  the  plainest,  and, 
apparently,  the  most  unambitious  of  men.  His  father  had  been  a 
peasant ;  but,  by  the  force  of  talent  and  learning,  he  had  arisen, 
from  the  condition  of  his  father,  to  be  a  Roman  cardinal.  Under 
the  garb  of  a  saint,  he  aspired  to  the  tiara.  There  was  only  one 
condition  of  success ;  and  that  was,  to  destroy  the  best  supporters 
of  that  fearful  absolutism  which  had  so  long  enslaved  the  world. 
The  sacrifice  was  tremendous  ;  but  it  was  made,  and  he  became  a 
pope.  Then  commenced  in  his  soul  the  awful  struggle.  Should 
he  fulfil  his  pledge,  and  jeopardize  his  cause  and  throne,  and  be 
branded,  by  the  zealots  of  his  church,  with  eternal  infamy  }  or 
should  he  break  his  word,  and  array  against  himself,  with  awful 
enmity,  the  great  monarchs  of  Europe,  and  perhaps  lose  the  alle- 
giance of  their  subjects  to  him  as  the  supreme  head  of  the  Catho- 
lic Church  }  The  decision  was  the  hardest  which  mortal  man  had 
ever  been  required  to  make.  Whatever  course  he  pursued  was 
full  of  danger  and  disgrace.  Poor  Ganganelli !  he  had  better 
remained  a  cowherd,  a  simple  priest,  a  bishop,  a  cardinal,  —  any 
thing,  —  rather  than  to  have  been  made  a  pope  !  But  such  was 
his  ambition,  and  he  was  obliged  to  reap  its  penalty.  Long  did 
the  afflicted  pontiff  delay  to  fulfil  his  pledge  ;  long  did  he  practise 
all  the  arts  of  dissimulation,  of  which  he  was  such  a  master.  He 
delayed,  he  flattered,  he  entreated,  he  coaxed.  But  the  monarchs 
called  peremptorily  for  the  fulfilment  of  his  pledge,  and  all  Europe 
now  understood  the  nature  of  the  contest.  It  was  between  the 
Jesuits  and  the  monarchs  of  Europe.  Ganganelli  was  compelled 
to  give  his  decision.  His  health  declined,  his  spirits  forsook  him, 
his  natural  gayety  fled;  He  courted  solitude,  he  wept,  he  prayed. 
But  he  must,  nevertheless,  decide.  The  Jesuits  threatened  assas- 
sination, and  exposed,  with  bitter  eloquence,  the  ruin  of  his  church, 
32* 


378  DEATH    OF    GANGANELLI.  [cHAP.  XXII. 

if  he  yielded  her  privileges  to  kings.  And  kings  threatened 
secession  from  Rome,  deposition  —  ten  thousand  calamities.  His 
agony  became  insupportable ;  but  delay  was  no  longer  possible. 
He  decided  to  suppress  the  order  of  tlie  Jesuits ;  and  sixty-nine 
colleges  were  closed,  their  missions  were  broken  up,  their  churches 
were  given  to  their  rivals,  and  twenty-two  thousand  priests  were 
left  without  organization,  wealth,  or  power. 

Their  revenge  was  not  an  idle  threat.  One  day,  the  pope,  on 
arising  from  table,  felt  an  internal  shock,  followed  by  great  cold. 
Gradually  he  lost  his  voice  and  strength.  His  blood  became  cor- 
rupted ;  and  his  moral  system  gave  way  with  the  physical.  He 
knew  that  he  was  doomed  —  that  he  was  poisoned  —  that  he  must 
die.  The  fear  of  hell  was  now  added  to  his  other  torments. 
''''Compulsus^feci^  compulsns^feci  !  "  —  "  O,  mercy,  mercy,  I  have 
been  compelled !  "  he  cried,  and  died  —  died  by  that  slow  but  sure 
poison,  such  as  old  Alexander  VI.  knew  so  well  how  to  administer 
to  his  victims  when  he  sought  their  wealth.  Pope  Clement  XIV. 
inflicted,  it  was  supposed,  a  mortal  wound  upon  his  church  and 
upon  her  best  friends.  He,  indeed,  reaped  the  penalty  of  ambition  ; 
but  the  cause  which  he  represented  did  not  perish,  nor  will  it  lose 
vitality  so  long  as  the  principle  of  evil  on  earth  is  destined  to  con- 
tend with  the  principle  of  good.  On  the  restoration  of  the  Bour- 
bons, the  order  of  the  Jesuits  was  restored;  and  their  flammg 
sWt)rd,  with  its  double  edge,  was  again  felt  in  every  corner  of  the 
world. 

The  Jesuits,  on  their  expulsion,  found  shelter  in  Prussia,  and 
protection  from  the  royal  infidel  who  had  been  the  friend  of  Vol- 
taire. A  schism  between  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe  and  infi- 
del philosophers  had  taken  place.  Frederic,  who  had  sympathized 
with  their  bitter  mockery,  at  last  perceived  the  tendency  of  their 
writings ;  that  men  who  assailed  obedience  to  divine  laws  would 
not  long  respect  the  institutions  and  governments  which  mankind  had 
recognized.  He  perceived,  too,  the  natural  union  of  absolutism 
in  the  church  with  absolutism  in  the  state,  and  came  to  the  rescue 
of  the  great,  unchanged,  unchangeable,  and  ever-consistent  advo- 
cates of  despotism.  The  frivolous  Choiseul,  the  extravagant  Pom- 
padour, and  the  debauched  Sardanapalus  of  his  age,  did  not  perceive 
the  truth  which  the  King  of  Prussia  recognized  in  his  latter  days. 


CHAP.  XXII.]  DEATH    OF    LOUIS    XV.  379 

Nor  would  it  have  availed  any  thing,  if  they  had  been  gifted  with 
the  clear  insight  of  Frederic  the  Great.-  The  stream,  on  whose 
curious  banks  the  great  and  the  noble  of  France  had  been  amusing 
themselves,  soon  swelled  into  an  overwhelming  torrent.  That  de- 
vastating torrent  was  the  French  Revolution,  whose  awful  swell 
was  first  perceived  during  the  latter  years  of  Louis  XV.  He  him- 
self caught  glimpses  of  the  future  ;  but,  with  the  egotism  of  a 
Bourbon,  he  remarked  "  that  the  throne  would  last  during  his 
time."  Soon  after  this  heartless  speech  was  made,  he  was  stricken 
with  the  small-pox,  and  died  1774,  after  a  long  and  inglorious  reign. 
He  was  deserted  in  his  last  hours,  and  his  disgusting  and  loathsome 
remains  were  huddled  into  their  last  abode  by  the  workmen  of  his 
palace. 

Before  the  reign  of  Louis  XVI.  can  be  described,  it  is  necessary 
to  glance  at  the  career  of  Frederic  the  Great,  and  the  condition 
of  the  various  European  states,  at  a  period  contemporary  with  the 
Seven  Years'  War  —  the  great  war  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
before  the  breakino;  out  of  the  French  Revolution. 


References.  —  For  a  general  view  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XV.,  see  the 
histories  of  Lacretelle,  Voltaire,  and  Crowe.  The  scheme  of  Law  is  best 
explained  in  Smyth's  Lectures,  and  Anderson's  History  of  Commerce. 
The  struggles  between  the  king  and  the  Parliament  of  Paris  are  tolerably 
described  in  the  History  of  Adolphus.  For  a  view  of  the  Jansenist  Con- 
troversy, see  Du  Pin's  Ecclesiastical  History,  Ranke's  History  of  the 
Popes,  Pascal's  Provincial  Letters,  and  Stephens's  article  in  the  Edinburgh 
Review,  on  the  Port  Royalists.  The  fall  of  the  Jesuits  has  been  admirably 
treated  by  Quinet.  James  has  written  a  good  sketch  of  the  lives  of  Fleury 
and  Choiseul.  For  the  manners  of  the  court  of  Louis  XV.,  the  numerous 
memoirs  and  letters,  which  were  written  during  the  period,  must  be  con- 
sulted ;  the  most  amusing  of  which,  and,  in  a  certain  sense,  instructive, 
are  too  infamous  to  be  named. 


880  FREDERIC   WILLIAM.  [cHAP.  XXIII. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

^  FREDERIC   THE    GREAT. 

Frederic  II.  of  Prussia  has  won  a  name  which  will  be  immor- 
tal on  Moloch's  catalogue  of  military  heroes.  His  singular  char- 
acter extorts  our  admiration,  while  it  calls  forth  our  aversion; 
admiration  for  his  great  abilities,  sagacity,  and  self-reliance,  and 
disgust  for  his  cruelties,  his  malice,  his  suspicions,  and  his  tricks. 
He  had  no  faith  in  virtue  or  disinterestedness,  and  trusted  only  to 
mechanical  agencies  —  lo  the  power  of  armies  —  to  the  principle 
of  fear.  He  was  not  indifferent  to  literature,  or  the  improvement 
of  his  nation ;  but  war  was  alike  his  absorbing  passion  and  his 
highest  glory.  Peter  the  Great  was  half  a  barbarian,  and  Charles 
XII.  half  a  madman ;  but  Frederi<^as  neither  barbarous  in  his 
tastes,  nor  wild  in  his  schemes.  Louis  XIV.  plunged  his  nation  in 
war  from  puerile  egotism,  and  William  III.  fought  for  the  great 
cause  of  religious  and  civil  liberty ;  but  Frederic,  from  the  excite- 
ment which  war  produced,  and  the  restless  ambition  of  plundering 
what  was  not  his  own. 

He  was  born  in  the  royal  palace  of  Berlin,  in  1712  —  ten  years 
after  Prussia  had  become  a  kingdom,  and  in  the  lifetime  of 
his  grandfather,  Frederic  I.  The  fortunes  of  his  family  were 
made  by  his  great-grandfather,  called  the  Great  Elector^  of  the 
house  of  Hohenzollern.  He  could  not  make  Brandenburg  a  fertile 
province ;  so  he  turned  it  into  a  mihtary  state.  He  was  wise,  be- 
nignant, and  universally  beloved.  But  few  of  his  amiable  quali- 
ties were  inherited  by  his  great-grandson.  Frederic  II.  resembled 
more  his  whimsical  and  tyrannical  father,  Frederic  William,  who 
beat  his  children  without  a  cause,  and  sent  his  subjects  to  prison 
from  mere  caprice.  When  his  ambassador,  in  London,  was  allowed 
only  one  thousand  pounds  a  year,  he  gave  a  bounty  of  thirteen 
hundred  pounds  to  a  tall  Irishman,  to  join  his  famous  body-guard, 
a  regiment  of  men  who  were  each  over  six  feet  high.  He  would 
kick  women  in  the  streets,  abuse  clergymen  for  looking  on  the 


CHAP.  XXIII.]     ACCESSION    OF    FREDERIC    THE    GREAT.  381 

soldiers,  and  insult  his  son's  tutor  for  teaching  him  Latin.  But, 
abating  his  coarseness,  his  brutality,  and  his  cruelty,  he  was  a 
Christian,  after  a  certain  model.  He  had  respect  for  the  institu- 
tions of  religion,  denounced  all  amusements  as  sinful,  and  read  a 
sermon  aloud,  every  afternoon,  to  his  family.  His  son  perceived 
his  inconsistencies,  and  grew  up  an  infidel.  There  was  no  sym- 
pathy between  father  and  son,  and  the  father  even  hated  the  heir 
of  his  house  and  throne.  The  young  prince  was  kept  on  bread 
and  water ;  his  most  moderate  wishes  were  disregarded ;  he  was 
surrounded  with  spies  ;  he  was  cruelly  beaten  and  imprisoned,  and 
abused  as  a  monster  and  a  heathen.  The  cruel  treatment  which 
the  prince  received  induced  him  to  fly ;  his  flight  was  discovered ; 
he  was  brought  back  to  Berlin,  condemned  to  death  as  a  deserter, 
and  only  saved  from  the  fate  of  a  malefactor  by  the  intercession 
of  half  of  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe.  A  hollow  reconciliation 
was  effected  ;  and  the  prince  was  permitted,  at  last,  to  retire  to  one 
of  the  royal  palaces,  where  he  amused  himself  with  books,  bil- 
liards, balls,  and  banquets.  He  opened  a  correspondence  with 
Voltaire,  and  became  an  ardent  admirer  of  his  opinions. 

Tn  1740,  the  old  king  died,  and  Frederic  II.  mounted  an  abso- 
lute throne.  He  found  a  well  filled  treasury,  and  a  splendidly 
disciplined  army.  His  customary  pleasures  were  abandoned,  and 
dreams  of  glory  filled  his  ambitious  soul. 

Scarcely  was  he  seated  on  his  throne  before  military  aggran- 
dizement became  the  animating  principle  of  his  life. 

His  first  war  was  the  conquest  of  Silesia,  one  of  the  richest 
provinces  of  the  Austrian  empire.  It  belonged  to  Maria  Theresa, 
Queen  of  Hungary  and  Bohemia,  daughter  of  the  late  emperor  of 
Germany,  whose  succession  was  guaranteed  by  virtue  of  the 
Pragmatic  Sanction  —  a  law  which  the  Emperor  Charles  passed 
respecting  his  daughter's  claim,  and  which  claim  was  recognized 
by  the  old  king  of  Prussia,  and  ratified  by  all  the  leading  powers 
of  Europe.  Without  a  declaration  of  war,  without  complaints, 
without  a  cause,  scarcely  without  a  pretext,  from  the  mere  lust  of 
dominion,  Frederic  commenced  hostilities,  in  the  depth  of  winter, 
when  invasion  was  unexpected,  and  when  the  garrisons  were 
defenceless.  Without  a  battle,  one  of  the  oldest  provinces  of 
Austria  was  seized,  and  the  royal  robber  returned  in  triumph  to 
his  capital. 


382  THE    SEVEN    YEARS'  AVAR.  [CKAI'.  XXIII. 

Such  an  outrage  and  crime  astonished  and  alarmed  the  whole 
civilized  world,  and  Europe  armed  itself  to  revenge  and  assist  the 
unfortunate  queen,  whose  empire  was  threatened  with  complete 
dismemberment.  Frederic  was  alarmed,  and  a  hollow  peace  was 
made.  But,  in  two  years,  the  war  again  broke  out.  To  recover 
Silesia  and  to  humble  Frederic  was  the  aim  of  Maria  Theresa, 
She  succeeded  in  securing  the  cooperation  of  Russia,  France, 
Sweden,  and  Saxony.  No  one  doubted  of  the  ruin  of  the  house 
of  Brandenburg.  Six  hundred  thousand  men  were  arrayed  to 
crush  an  upstart  monarchy,  and  an  unprincipled  king,  who  had 
trampled  on  all  the  laws  of  nations  and  all  the  principles  of  justice. 

The  resistance  of  Frederic  to  these  immense  forces  constitutes 
the  celebrated  Seven  Years'*  War  — •  the  most  gigantic  war  which 
Europe  had  seen,  from  the  Reformation  to  the  French  Revolution. 
This  contest  began  during  the  latter  years  of  George  II.,  and  was 
connected  with  the  colonial  wars  of  Great  Britain  and  France, 
during  which  Wolfe  was  killed  and  the  Canadas  were  gained. 
This  war  called  out  all  the  energies  of  the  elder  Pitt,  and  placed 
Great  Britain  on  the  exalted  height  which  it  has  since  retained. 

Frederic  was  not  so  blinded  as  not  to  perceive  the  extent  of  his 
dangers ;  and  his  successful  resistance  to  the  armies  which  his 
own  offensive  war  had  raised  up  against  him,  has  given  him  his 
claims  to  the  epithet  of  Great.  Although  he  provoked  the  war, 
his  successful  defence  of  his  country  placed  him  on  the  very  high- 
est  pinnacle  of  military  fame.  He  would  gladly  have  been 
relieved  from  the  contest ;  but  it  was  inevitable ;  and  when  the 
tempest  burst  upon  his  head,  he  showed  all  the  qualities  of  exalted 
heroism. 

Great  and  overwhelming  odds  were  arrayed  against  him.  But 
he  himself  had  some  great  advantages.  He  was  absolute  master 
of  his  army,  of  his  treasury,  and  of  his  territories.  The  lives  and 
property  of  his  subjects  were  at  his  disposal ;  his  subjects  were 
brave  and  loyal ;  he  was  popular  with  the  people,  and  was  sustained 
by  the  enthusiasm  of  the  nation  ;  his  army  was  well  disciplined ; 
he  had  no  sea-coast  to  defend,  and  he  could  concentrate  all  his 
forces  upon  any  point  he  pleased,  in  a  short  time. 

His  only  hope  was  in  energetic  measures.  He  therefore  invaded 
Saxony,  at  once,  with  sixty  thousand  men.     His  aim  was  to  seize 


CHAP,  XXIII.]  BATTLE    OF    ROSSBACH.  883 

the  state  papers  at  Dresden,  which  contained  the  proofs  of  the 
confederation.  These  were  found  and-  published,  which  showed 
that  now,  at  least,  he  acted  on  the  defensive. 

The  campaign  of  1756  commenced,  and  the  first  great  battle 
was  won  by  the  Prussians.  By  the  victory  of  Lowositz,  Frederic 
was  in  a  better  condition  to  contend  with  Austria.  By  this  he  got 
possession  of  Saxony. 

The  campaign  of  1757  was  commenced  under  great  solicitude. 
Five  hundred  thousand  men  were  arrayed  against  two  hundred 
thousand.  Near  Prague,  Frederic  obtained  a  victory,  but  lost 
twelve  thousand  men.  He  then  invested  Prague.  General  Daun, 
with  a  superior  army,  advanced  to  its  relief.  Another  bloody  battle 
was  fought,  and  lost  by  the  Prussian  king.  This  seemed  to  be  a 
fatal  stroke.  At  the  outset,  as  it  were,  of  the  war,  he  had  received 
a  check.  The  soldiers'  confidence  was  weakened.  Malevolent 
sarcasm  pointed  out  mistakes.  The  siege  of  Prague  was  raised, 
and  Bohemia  was  abandoned.  A  French  army,  at  the  same  time, 
invaded  Germany ;  and  Frederic  heard  also  of  the  death  of  his 
mother  —  the  only  person  whom  he  loved.  His  spirits  fell,  and  he 
became  haggard  and  miserable. 

The  only  thing  for  him  to  do  now  was,  to  protect  Saxony,  and 
secure  that  conquest  —  no  very  easy  task.  His  dominions  were 
now  assailed  by  a  French,  a  Swedish,  and  a  Russian  army.  His 
capital  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Croatians,  and  he  was  opposed  by 
superior  Austrian  forces.  No  wonder  that  he  was  oppressed  with 
melancholy,  and  saw  only  the  ruin  of  his  house.  On  one  thing, 
however,  he  was  resolved  —  never  to  be  taken  alive.  So  he  pro- 
vided himself  with  poison,  which  he  ever  carried  about  his  person. 

The  heroic  career  of  Frederic  dates  from  this  hour  of  misfor- 
tune and  trial.  Indeed,  the  heroism  of  all  great  men  commences 
in  perplexity,  difficulty,  and  danger.  Success  is  glorious;  but 
success  is  obtained  only  through  struggle.  Frederic's  career  is  a 
splendid  example  of  that  heroism  which  rises  above  danger,  and 
extricates  a  man  from  difficulties  when  his  cause  is  desperate. 

The  King  of  Prussia  first  marched  against  the  French.  The  two 
armies  met  at  Rossbach.  The  number  of  the  French  was  double 
that  of  the  Prussians  ;  but  the  Prussians  were  better  disciplined,  and 
were  commanded  by  an  abler  general.     The  French,  however 


384  BATTLE   OF   LEUTHEN.  [cHAP.  XXTII. 

felt  secure  of  victory ;  but  they  were  defeated :  seven  thousand 
men  were  taken  prisoners,  together  with  their  guns,  ammunition, 
parrots,  hair  powder,  and  pomatum.  The  victory  of  Rossbach 
won  for  Frederic  a  great  name,  and  diffused  universal  joy  among 
the  English  and  Prussians. 

After  a  brief  rest,  he  turned  his  face  towards  Silesia,  which  had 
again  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Austrians.  It  was  for  this  prov- 
ince that  he  provoked  the  hostilities  of  Europe  ;  and  pride,  as  well 
as  interest,  induced  him  to  bend  all  his  energies  to  regain  it.  Prince 
Charles  of  Lorraine  commanded  the  forces  of  Maria  Theresa, 
which  numbered  eighty  thousand  men.  Frederic  could  only  array 
against  him  an  army  of  thirty  thousand.  And  yet,  in  spite  of  the 
disparity  of  forces,  and  his  desperate  condition,  he  resolved  to 
attack  the  enemy.  His  generals  remonstrated ;  but  the  hero  gave 
full  permission  to  all  to  retire,  if  they  pleased.  None  were  found 
to  shun  the  danger.  Frederic,  like  Napoleon,  had  the  talent  of 
exciting  the  enthusiasm  of  his  troops.  He  both  encouraged  and 
threatened  them.  He  declared  that  any  cavalry  regiment  which 
did  not,  on  being  ordered,  burst  impetuously  on  the  foe,  should, 
after  the  battle,  be  dismounted,  and  converted  into  a  garrison  regi- 
ment. But  he  had  no  reason  to  complain.  On  the  5th  of  Decem- 
ber, the  day  of  the  ever-memorable  battle  of  Leuthen,  he  selected  an 
officer  with  fifty  men  as  his  body-guard.  "  I  shall,"  said  he,  "  ex- 
pose myself  much  to-day  ;  you  are  not  to  leave  me  for  an  instant ; 
if  I  fall,  cover  me  quickly  with  a  mantle,  place  me  in  a  wagon, 
and  tell  the  fact  to  no  one.  The  battle  cannot  be  avoided,  and 
must  be  won."  And  he  obtained  a  glorious  victory.  The  Austrian 
general  abandoned  a  strong  position,  because  he  deemed  it  beneath 
his  dignity  to  contend  with  an  inferior  force  in  a  fortified  camp. 
His  imprudence  lost  him  the  battle.  According  to  Napoleon,  it 
was  a  masterpiece  on  the  part  of  the  victor,  and  placed  him  in  the 
first  rank  of  generals.  Twenty  thousand  Austrians  were  either 
killed  or  taken.  Breslau  opened  its  gates  to  the  Prussians,  and 
Silesia  was  reconquered.  The  king's  fame  filled  the  world.  Pic- 
tures of  him  were  hung  in  almost  every  house.  The  enthusiasm 
oi  Germany  was  not  surpassed  by  that  of  England.  London  was 
illuminated  ;  the  gay  scions  of  aristocracy  proposed  to  the  Prussian 
kmg  to  leave  their  country  and  join  his  army ;  an  annual  subsidy 


«^J1AP.  XXIII.]  FALL    OF    DRESDEN.  385 

of  seven  hundred  thousand  pounds  was  granted  by  government. 
The  batde  of  Leuthen  was  the  most  briUiant  in  Prussian  annals ; 
but  the  battle  of  Rossbach,  over  the  French,  was  attended  by 
greater  moral  results.  It  showed,  for  the  first  time  for  several 
centuries,  that  the  Germans  were  really  a  great  people,  and  were 
a  match  for  the  French,  hitherto  deemed  invincible. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1758,  Frederic  was  ready  for  a  new 
campaign,  which  was  soon  signalized  by  a  great  victory  over  the 
Russians,  at  ZorndorfF.  It  was  as  brilliant  and  decisive  as  the  bat- 
tles of  Rossbach  and  Leuthen.  A  force  of  thirty-two  thousand 
men  defeated  an  army  of  fifty-two  thousand.  Twenty-two  thou- 
sand Russians  lay  dead  on  the  field.  This  victory  placed  Frederic 
at  the  zenith  of  military  fame.  In  less  than  a  year,  he  had  de- 
feated three  great  armies ;  in  less  than  a  year,  and  when  nearly 
driven  to  despair,  —  when  his  cause  seemed  hopeless,  and  his  ene- 
mies were  rejoicing  in  their  strength,  —  he  successively  triumphed 
over  the  French,  the  Austrians,  and  the  Russians  ;  the  three  most 
powerful  nations  on  the  continent  of  Europe.  And  his  moderation 
after  victory  was  as  marked  as  his  self-reliance  after  defeat.  At 
this  period,  he  stood  out,  to  the  wondering  and  admiring  eyes  of 
the  world,  as  the  greatest  hero  and  general  of  modern  times.  But, 
after  this,  his  career  was  more  checkered,  and  he  was  still  in  dan- 
ger of  being  overwhelmed  by  his  powerful  enemies. 

The  remainder  of  the  campaign  of  1758  was  spent  in  driving 
the  Austrians  from  Silesia,  and  in  capturing  Dresden.  No  capital 
in  Europe  has  suffered  more  in  war  than  this  elegant  and  polished 
city.  It  has  been  often  besieged  and  taken,  but  the  victors  have 
always  spared  its  famous  picture  gallery  —  the  finest  collection  of 
the  works  of  the  old  masters,  probably,  in  existence. 

But  Frederic  was  now  assailed  by  a  new  enemy.  Pope  Benedict 
XIV.  He  sent  a  consecrated  sword,  a  hat  of  crimson  velvet,  and 
a  dove  of  pearls,  —  "-the  mystic  symbol  of  the  divine  Comforter," 
—  to  Marshal  Daun,  the  ablest  of  the  Austrian  generals,  and  the 
conqueror  at  Kolin  and  Hochkirchen.  It  was  the  rarest  of  the 
papal  gifts,  and  had  been  only  bestowed,  in  the  course  of  six  cen- 
turies, on  Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  by  Urban  II.,  when  he  took  Jeru- 
salem ;  on  Alva,  after  his  massacres  in  Plolland  ;  and  on  Sobieski, 
after  his  deliverance  of  Vienna,  when  besieged  by  the  Turks.  It 
33       2  A 


386  REVEBSES    OF    FREDERIC.  [cHAP.  XXIII. 

had  never  been  conferred,  except  for  the  defence  of  the  "  Holy 
Catholic  Church."  But  this  greatest  of  papal  gifts  made  no  im- 
pression on  the  age  which  read  Montesquieu  and  Voltaire.  A  flood 
of  satirical  pamphlets  inundated  Christendom,  and  the  world 
laughed  at  the  impotent  weapons  which  had  once  been  thunder- 
bolts in  the  hands  of  Hildebrand  or  Innocent  III. 

The  fourth  year  of  the  war  proved  disastrous  to  Frederic.  He 
did  not  lose  military  reputation,  but  he  lost  his  cities  and  armies. 
The  forces  of  his  enemies  were  nearly  overwhelming.  The  Aus- 
trians  invaded  Saxony,  and  menaced  Silesia,  while  the  Russians 
gained  a  victory  over  the  Prussians  at  Kunersdorf,  and  killed 
eighteen  thousand  men.  The  Russians  did  not  improve  this 
great  victory  over  Frederic,  which  nearly  drove  him  to  despair. 
But  he  rallied,  and  was  again  defeated  in  three  disastrous  battles. 
In  his  distress,  he  fed  his  troops  on  potatoes  and  rye  bread,  took 
from  the  peasant  his  last  horse,  debased  his  coin,  and  left  his  civil 
functionaries  unpaid. 

The  campaign  of  1760  was,  at  first,  unfavorable  to  the  Prus- 
sians. Frederic  had  only  ninety  thousand  men,  and  his  enemies 
had  two  hundred  thousand,  in  the  field.  He  was  therefore  obliged 
to  maintain  the  defensive.  But  still  disasters  thickened.  General 
Loudon  obtained  a  great  victory  over  his  general,  Fouque,  in  Sile- 
sia. Instead  of  being  discouraged  by  this  new  defeat,  he  formed 
the  extraordinary  resolution  of  wresting  Dresden  from  the  hands 
of  the  Austrians.  But  he  pretended  to  retreat  from  Saxony,  and 
advance  to  Silesia.  General  Daun  was  deceived,  and  decoyed 
from  Saxony  in  pursuit  of  him.  As  soon  as  Frederic  had  retired 
a  considerable  distance  from  Dresden,  he  returned,  and  bombarded 
it.  But  he  did  not  succeed  in  taking  it,  and  was  forced  to  retreat 
to  Silesia.  It  was  there  his  good  fortune  to  gain  a  victory  over 
the  Austrians,  and  prevent  their  junction  with  the  Russians.  At 
Torgau,  he  again  defeated  an  army  of  sixty-four  thousand  of  the 
enemy,  with  a  force  of  only  forty-four  thousand.  This  closed  the 
campaign,  and  the  position  of  the  parties  was  nearly  the  same  as 
at  the  commencement  of  it.  The  heart  of  Frederic  was  now 
ulcerated  with  bitterness  in  view  of  the  perseverance  of  his  ene- 
mies, who  were  resolved  to  crush  him.  He  should,  however, 
have  remembered  that  he  had  provoked  their  implacable  resent- 
ment, by  the  commission  of  a  great  crime. 


CHAP.  XXIII.]  CONTINUED    DISASTERS.  387 

Although  Frederic,  by  rare  heroism,  had  maintained  his  ground, 
still  his  resources  were  now  nearly  exhausted,  and  he  began  to 
look  around,  in  vain,  for  a  new  supply  of  men,  horses,  and  pro- 
visions. The  circle  which  his  enemies  had  drawn  around  him 
was  obviously  becoming  smaller.  In  a  little  while,  to  all  appear- 
ance, he  would  be  crushed  by  overwhelming  forces. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  campaign  in  1761  was  opened ; 
but  no  event  of  importance  occurred  until  nearly  the  close  of  the 
year.  On  the  whole,  it  was  disastrous  to  Prussia.  Half  of  Silesia 
was  taken  by  the  Austrians,  and  the  Russian  generals  were  suc- 
cessful in  Pomerania.  And  a  still  greater  misfortune  happened  to 
Frederic  in  consequence  of  the  resignation  of  Pitt,  who  had  ever 
been  his  firmest  ally,  and  had  granted  him  large  subsidies,  when 
he  was  most  in  need  of  them.  On  the  retirement  of  the  English 
minister,  these  subsidies  were  withdrawn,  and  the  party  which  had 
thwarted  William  III.,  whicn  had  persecuted  Marlborough,  and 
had  given  up  the  Catalans,  came  into  power — the  Tories.  "  It 
was  indifferent  to  them  whether  the  house  of  Hohenstaufen  or 
Hohenzollern  should  be  dominant  in  Germany."  But  Pitt  and  the 
Whigs  argued  that  no  sacrifice  would  be  too  great  to  preserve  the 
balance  of  power.  The  defection  of  England,  however,  filled  the 
mind  of  Frederic  with  implacable  hatred,  and  he  never  could  bear 
to  hear  even  the  name  of  England  mentioned.  The  defection  of 
this  great  ally  made  his  affairs  desperate  ;  and  no  one,  taking  a  dis- 
passionate view  of  the  contending  parties,  could  doubt  but  that  the 
ruin  of  the  Prussian  king  was  inevitable.  Maria  Theresa  was  so  con- 
fident of  success,  that  she  disbanded  twenty  thousand  of  her  troops. 

But  Providence  had  ordered  otherwise.  A  great  and  unex- 
pected change  came  over  the  fortunes  of  Frederic.  His  heroism 
was  now  to  be  rewarded  —  not  the  vulgar  heroism  which  makes  a 
sudden  effort,  and  gains  a  single  battle,  but  that  well-sustained 
heroism  which  strives  in  the  midst  of  defeat,  and  continues  to  hope 
when  even  noble  hearts  are  sinking  in  despair.  On  the  5th  of  Janua- 
ry, 1762,  Elizabeth,  the  empress  of  Russia,  died  ;  and  her  successor, 
Peter  III.,  who  was  an  admirer  of  Frederic,  and  even  a  personal 
friend,  returned  the  Prussian  prisoners,  withdrew  his  troops  from 
the  Prussian  territories,  dressed  himself  in  a  Prussian  uniform,  and 
wore  the  black  eagle  of  Prussia  on  his  breast.  He  even  sent 
fifteen  thousand  troops  to  reenforce  the  army  of  Frederic. 


388  EXHAUSTION    OF    PRUSSIA    BY   THE    WAR.      [cHAP.    XXll  . 

England  and  France  had  long  been  wearied  of  this  war,  and 
formed  a  separate  treaty  for  themselves.  Prussia  and  Austria  were 
therefore  left  to  combat  each  other.  If  Austria,  assisted  by  France 
and  Russia,  could  not  regain  Silesia  and  ruin  Prussia,  it  certainly 
was  not  strong  enough  to  conquer  Frederic  single-handed.  The 
proud  Maria  Theresa  was  compelled  to  make  peace  with  that 
heroic  but  unprincipled  robber,  who  had  seized  one  of  the  finest 
provinces  of  the  Austrian  empire.  In  February,  the  treaty  of 
Hubertsburg  was  signed,  by  which  Frederic  retained  his  spoil. 
He,  in  comparison  with  the  other  belligerent  parties  was  the  gainer. 
But  no  acquisition  of  territory  could  compensate  for  those  seven 
years  of  toil,  expense,  and  death.  After  six  years,  he  entered  his 
capital  in  triumph ;  but  he  beheld  every  where  the  melancholy 
marks  of  devastation  and  suffering.  The  fields  were  untilled, 
houses  had  been  sacked,  population  had  declined,  and  famine  and 
disease  had  spread  a  funereal  shade  over  the  dwellings  of  the  poor. 
He  had  escaped  death,  but  one  sixth  of  the  whole  male  popula- 
tion of  Prussia  had  been  killed,  and  untold  millions  of  property 
had  been  destroyed.  In  some  districts,  no  laborers  but  women 
were  seen  in  the  fields,  and  fifteen  thousand  houses  had  been 
burnt  in  his  own  capital. 

It  is  very  remarkable  that  no  national  debt  was  incurred  by  the 
king  of  Prussia,  in  spite  of  all  his  necessities.  He  always,  in  the 
worst  of  times,  had  a  year's  revenue  in  advance  ;  and,  at  the 
close  of  the  war,  to  show  the  world  that  he  was  not  then  impov- 
erished, he  l)uilt  a  splendid  palace  at  Potsdam,  which  nearly 
equalled  the  magnificence  of  Versailles. 

But  he  also  did  all  in  his  power  to  alleviate  the  distress  which 
his  wars  had  caused.  Silesia  received  three  millions  of  thalers, 
and  Pomerania  two  millions.  Fourteen  thousand  houses  were 
rebuilt;  treasury  notes,  which  had  depreciated,  were  redeemed; 
officers  who  had  distinguished  themselves  were  rewarded  ;  and  the 
widows  and  (Children  of  those  who  had  fallen  were  pensioned. 

The  possession  of  Silesia  did  not,  indeed,  compensate  for  the 
Seven  Years'  War ;  but  the  struggles  which  the  brave  Prussians 
made  for  their  national  independence,  when  assailed  on  all  sides 
by  powerful  enemies,  were  not  made  in  vain.  Had  they  not  been 
made,  worse  evils  would  have  happened.  Prussia  would  not  have 
held  her  place  in  the  scale  of  nations,  and  the  people  would  have 


CHAP.  XXIII.]  DEATH    OF    FBEDERIC.  389 

fallen  in  self-respect.  It  was  wrong  in  Frederic  to  seize  the  pos- 
session of  another.  In  so  doing,  he  was  in  no  respect  better  than 
a  robber ;  and  he  paid  a  penalty  for  his  crime.  But  he  also  fought 
in  self-defence.  This  defence  was  honorable  and  glorious,  and 
this  entitles  him  to  the  name  of  Great. 

After  the  peace  of  Hubertsburg,  in  1763,  Prussia,  for  a  time, 
enjoyed  repose,  and  the  king  devoted  himself  to  the  improvement 
of  his  country.  But  the  army  received  his  greatest  consideration, 
and  a  peace  establishment  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  men 
was  maintained ;  an  immense  force  for  so  small  a  kingdom.,  but 
deemed  necessary  in  such  unsettled  times.  Frederic  amused 
himself  in  building  palaces,  in  writing  books,  and  corresponding 
with  literary  friends.  But  schemes  of  ambition  were,  after  all, 
paramount  in  his  mind. 

The  Seven  Years'  War  had  scarcely  closed  before  the  partition 
of  Poland  was  effected,  the  greatest  poUtical  crime  of  that  age, 
for  which  the  king  of  Prussia  was  chiefly  responsible. 

The  Bavarian  war  was  the  next  great  political  event  of  impor- 
tance which  occurred  during  the  reign  of  Frederic.  The  emperor 
of  Germany  formed  a  project  for  the  dismemberment  of  the  electo- 
rate of  Bavaria.  The  liberties  of  the  Germanic  body  were  in 
danger,  and  Frederic  came  to  the  rescue.  On  this  occasion,  he 
was  the  opposer  of  lawless  ambition.  In  1778,  he  took  the  field 
with  a  powerful  army  ;  but  no  action  ensued.  The  Austrian  court 
found  it  expedient  to  abandon  the  design,  and  the  peace  of  Teschen 
prevented  another  fearful  contest.  The  two  last  public  acts  of 
Frederic  were  the  establishment,  in  1785,  of  the  Germanic  Union 
for  preserving  the  constitution  of  the  empire,  and  a  treaty  of  amity 
and  commerce,  in  1786,  with  the  United  States  of  America,  which 
was  a  model  of  liberal  policy  respecting  the  rights  of  independent 
nations,  both  in  peace  and  war. 

He  died  on  the  17th  of  August,  1786,  in  the  seventy-fifth  year 
of  his  age,  and  the  forty-seventh  of  his  reign.  On  the  whole,  he 
was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  his  age,  and  had  a  great 
influence  on  the  condition  of  his  country. 

His  distinguishing  peculiarity  was  his  admiration  of,  and  devo- 
tion to,  the  military  profession,  which  he  unduly  exalted.  An 
ensign  in  his  army  ranked  higher  than  a  counsellor  of  legation, 
33* 


390  CHARACTER    OF    FREDERIC.  [CHAP.  XXII 1. 

or  a  professor  of  philosophy.  His  ordinary  mode  of  life  was  sim- 
ple and  unostentatious,  and  his  favorite  residence  was  the  palace 
of  Sans  Souci,  at  Potsdam.  He  was  very  fond  of  music,  and  of 
the  society  of  literary  men ;  but  he  mortified  them  by  his  patron- 
izing arrogance,  and  worried  them  by  his  practical  jokes.  His 
favorite  literary  companions  were  infidel  philosophers,  and  Voltaire 
received  from  him  marks  of  the  highest  distinction.  But  the  king 
of  letters  could  not  live  with  the  despot  who  solicited  his  society, 
and  an  implacable  hatred  succeeded  familiarity  and  friendship. 
The  king  had  considerable  literary  reputation,  and  was  the  author 
of  several  works.  He  was  much  admired  by  his  soldiers,  and 
permitted  in  them  uncommon  familiarity.  He  was  ever  free  from 
repulsive  formality  and  bolstered  dignity.  He  was  industrious, 
frugal,  and  vigilant.  Nothing  escaped  his  eye,  and  he  attended 
to  the  details  of  his  administration.  He  was  probably  the  most 
indefatigable  sovereign  that  ever  existed,  but  displayed  nwre 
personal  ability  than  enlarged  wisdom. 

But  able  and  successful  as  he  was  as  a  ruler,  he  was  one  of  those 
men  for  whom  it  is  impossible  to  entertain  a  profound  respect. 
He  WELS  cruel,  selfish,  and  parsimonious.  He  was  prodigal  of  the 
blood  of  his  subjects,  and  ungenerous  in  his  treatment  of  those 
who  had  sacrificed  every  thing  for  his  sake.  He  ruled  by  fear 
rather  than  by  love.  He  introduced  into  every  department  the 
precision  of  a  rigid  military  discipline,  and  had  no  faith  in  any 
power  but  that  of  mechanical  agencies.  He  quarrelled  with  his 
best  friends,  and  seemed  to  enjoy  the  miseries  he  inflicted.  He 
was  contemptuous  of  woman,  and  disdainful  of  Christianity.  His 
egotism  was  not  redeemed  by  politeness  or  affability,  and  he  made 
no  efforts  to  disguise  his  unmitigated  selfishness  and  heartless  in- 
justice. He  had  no  loftiness  of  character,  and  no  appreciation  of 
elevation  of  sentiment  in  others.  He  worshipped  only  himself, 
and  rewarded  those  only  who  advanced  his  ambitious  designs. 

References.  —  The  Posthumous  Works  of  Frederic  11.  Gillies's  View 
of  the  Reign  of  Frederic  11.  Thiebault's  Memoires  de  Fred6ric  le  Grand. 
Voltaire's  Idee  du  Roi  de  Prnsse.  Life  of  Baron  Trenck.  Macaulay's 
Essay  on  the  Life  and  Times  of  Frederic  tlie  Great.  Coxe's  House  of 
Austria.     Tower's,  Johnson's,  and  Campbell's  Life  of  Frederic  the  Great. 


CHAP.  XXIV.]  THE    GERMANIC    CONSTITUTION.  391 

CHAPTER     XXIV. 

MARIA  THERESA  AND  CATHARINE  II. 

Contemporaneous  with  Frederic  the  Great  were  Maria  Theresa 
and  Catharine  II.  —  two  sovereigns  who  claim  an  especial  notice, 
as  representing  two  mighty  empires.  The  part  which  Maria 
Theresa  took  in  the  Seven  Years'  War  has  been  often  alluded  to, 
and  it  is  not  necessary  to  recapitulate  the  causes  or  events  of  that 
war.  She  and  Catharine  II.  were  also  implicated  with  Frederic  in 
the  partition  of  Poland.  The  misfortunes  of  that  unhappy  country 
will  be  separately  considered.  In  alluding  to  Maria  Theresa,  we 
cannot  but  review  the  history  of  that  great  empire  over  which  she 
ruled,  the  most  powerful  of  the  German  states.  The  power  of 
Austria,  at  different  times  since  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Charles 
v.,  threatened  the  liberties  of  Europe ;  and,  to  prevent  her  ascen- 
dency, the  kings  of  France,  England,  and  Prussia  have  expended 
the  treasure  and  wasted  the  blood  of  their  subjects. 

By  the  peace  of  Westphalia,  in  1648,  at  the  close  of  the  Thirty 
Years'  War,  the  constitution  of  Germany  was  established  upon  a 
firm  basis.  The  religious  differences  between  the  Catholics  and 
the  Protestants  were  settled,  and  religious  toleration  secured  in  all 
the  states  of  the  empire.  It  was  settled  that  no  decree  of  the 
Diet  was  to  pass  without  a  majority  of  suffrages,  and  that  the 
Imperial  Chamber  and  the  Aulic  Council  should  be  composed  of  a 
due  proportion  of  Catholics  and  Protestants.  The  former  was 
instituted  by  the  Emperor  Maximilian  I.,  in  1495,  at  the  Diet  of 
Worms,  and  was  a  judicial  tribunal,  and  the  highest  court  of 
appeal.  It  consisted  of  seventeen  judges  nominated  by  the  empe- 
ror, and  took  cognizance  of  Austrian  affairs  chiefly.  The  Aulic 
Council  was  also  judicial,  and  was  composed  of  eighteen  persons, 
and  attended  chiefly  to  business  connected  with  the  empire.  The 
members  of  these  two  great  judicial  tribunals  were  Catholics ;  and 
there  were  also  frequent  disputes  between  them  as  to  their  respective 
jurisdictions.     It  was  ordained  by  the  treaty  of  Westphalia  that  a 


392  THE    GERMANIC    CONSTITUTION.  [cHAP.  XXIV. 

perfect  equality  should  be  observed  in  the  appointment  of  the 
members  of  these  two  important  courts ;  but,  in  fact,  twenty-four 
Protestants  and  twenty-six  Catholics  were  appointed  to  the  Imperial 
Chamber.  The  various  states  had  the  right  of  presenting  mem- 
bers, according  to  political  importance.  The  Aulic  Council  was 
composed  of  six  Protestants  and  twelve  Catholics,  and  was  a 
tribunal  to  settle  difficulties  between  the  various  states  of  which 
(jrermany  was  composed. 

These  states  were  nearly  independent  of  each  other,  but  united 
under  one  common  head.  Each  state  had  its  own  peculiar  gov- 
ernment, which  was  generally  monarchical,  and  regulated  its 
own  coinage,  police,  and  administration  of  justice.  Each  king- 
dom, electorate,  principality,  and  imperial  city,  which  were  included 
in  the  states  of  Germany,  had  the  right  to  make  war,  form  alli- 
ances, conclude  peace,  and  send  ambassadors  to  foreign  courts. 

The  Diet  of  the  empire  consisted  of  representatives  of  each 
of  the  states,  appointed  by  the  princes  themselves,  and  took 
cognizance  of  matters  of  common  interest,  such  as  regulations 
respecting  commerce,  the  license  of  books,  and  the  military  force 
which  each  state  was  required  to  furnish. 

The  emperor  had  power,  in  some  respects,  over  all  these  states ; 
but  it  was  chiefly  confined  to  his  hereditary  dominions.  He  could 
not  exercise  any  despotic  control  over  the  various  princes  of  the 
empire  ;  but,  as  hereditary  sovereign  of  Austria,  Styria,  Moravia, 
Bohemia,  Hungary,  and  the  Tyrol,  he  was  the  most  powerful 
prince  in  Europe  until  the  aggrandizement  of  Louis  XIV. 

Ferdinand  III.  was  emperor  of  Germany  at  the  peace  of  West- 
phalia ;  but  he  did  not  long  survive  it.  He  died  in  1657,  and  his 
son  Leopold  succeeded  him  as  sovereign  of  all  the  Austrian  do- 
minions. He  had  not  completed  his  eighteenth  year,  but  never- 
theless was,  five  months  after,  elected  Emperor  of  Germany  by 
the  Electoral  Diet. 

Great  events  occurred  during  the  reign  of  Leopold  I.  —  the 
Turkish  war,  the  invasion  of  the  Netherlands  by  Louis  XIV.,  the 
heroic  struggles  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  the  French  invasion  of 
the  Palatinate,  the  accession  of  a  Bourbon  prince  to  the  throne 
of  Spain,  the  discontents  of  Hungary,  and  the  victories  of  Marl- 
l)orough  and  Eugene.     Most  of  these  have  been  already  alluded 


CHAP.  XXIV.]  THE   HUNGARIAN   WAR.  393 

to,  especially  in  the  chapter  on  Louis  XIV.,  and,  therefore,  will 
not  be  further  discussed. 

The  most  important  event  connected  with  Austrian  affairs,  as 
distinct  from  those  of  France,  England,  and  Holland,  was  the  Hun- 
garian war.  Hungary  was  not  a  province  of  Austria,  but  was  a 
distinct  state.  In  1526,  the  crowns  of  the  two  kingdoms  were 
united,  like  those  of  England  and  Hanover  under  George  I.  But 
the  Hungarians  were  always  impatient  of  the  rule  of  the  Emperor 
of  Germany,  and,  in  the  space  of  a  century,  arose  five  times  in 
defence  of  their  liberties. 

In  1667,  one  of  these  insurrections  took  place,  occasioned  by 
the  aggressive  policy  and  government  of  Leopold.  The  Hunga- 
rians conspired  to  secure  their  liberties,  but  in  vain.  So  soon 
as  the  emperor  was  aware  of  the  conspiracy  of  his  Hungarian 
subjects,  he  adopted  vigorous  measures,  quartered  thirty 
thousand  additional  troops  in  Hungary,  loaded  the  people  with 
taxes,  occupied  the  principal  fortresses,  banished  the  chiefs,  and 
changed  the  constitution  of  the  country.  He  also  attempted  to 
suppress  Protestantism,  and  committed  all  the  excesses  of  a  mili- 
tary despotism.  These  accumulated  oppressions  drove  a  brave 
but  turbulent  people  to  despair,  and  both  Catholics  and  Protestants 
united  for  their  common  safety.  The  insurgents  were  assisted  by 
the  Prince  of  Transylvania,  and  were  supplied  with  money  and 
provisions  by  the  French.  They  also  found  a  noble  defender  in 
Emeric  Tekeli,  a  young  Hungarian  noble,  who  hated  Austria  as 
intensely  as  Hannibal  hated  Rome,  and  who,  at  the  head  of  twenty 
thousand  men,  defended  his  country  against  the  emperor.  More- 
over, he  successfully  intrigued  with  the  Turks,  who  invaded  Hun- 
gary with  two  hundred  thousand  men,  and  advanced  to  lay  siege 
to  Vienna.  This  immense  army  was  defeated  by  John  Sobieski, 
to  whom  Leopold  appealed  in  his  necessities,  and  the  Turks  were 
driven  out  of  Hungary.  Tekeli  was  gradually  insulated  from 
those  who  had  formed  the  great  support  of  his  cause,  and,  in 
consequence  of  jealousies  which  Leopold  had  fomented  between 
him  and  the  Turks,  was  arrested  and  sent  in  chains  to  Constanti- 
nople. New  victories  followed  the  imperial  army,  and  Leopold 
succeeded  in  making  the  crown  of  Hungary,  hitherto  elective, 
hereditary  in  his  family.     He  instituted  in  the  conquered  country 


394  THE    EMPEROR    JOSEPH.  [cHAP.  XXIV. 

a  horrible  inquisitorial  tribunal,  and  perpetrated  cruelties  which 
scarcely  find  a  parallel  in  the  proscriptions  of  Marius  and  Syllu. 
His  son  Joseph,  at  the  age  of  ten,  was  crowned  king  of  Hungary 
with  great  magnificence,  and  with  the  usual  solemnities. 

When  the  Hungarian  difficulties  were  settled,  Leopold  had  more 
leisure  to  prosecute  his  war  with  the  Turks,  in  which  he  gained 
signal  successes.  The  Ottoman  Porte  was  humbled  and  crippled, 
and  a  great  source  of  discontent  to  the  Christian  powers  of  Europe 
was  removed.  By  the  peace  of  Carlovitz,  (1697,)  Leopold  secured 
Hungary  and  Sclavonia,  which  had  been  so  long  occupied  by  the 
Turks,  and  consolidated  his  empire  by  the  acquisition  of  Transyl- 
vania. 

Leopold  L  lived  only  to  witness  the  splendid  victories  of  Marl- 
borough and  Eugene,  by  which  the  power  of  his  great  rival,  Louis, 
was  effectually  reduced.  He  died  in  1705,  having  reigned  forty-six 
years ;  the  longest  reign  in  the  Austrian  annals,  except  that  of 
Frederic  IIL 

He  was  a  man  of  great  private  virtues ;  pure  in  his  morals, 
faithful  to  his  wife,  a  good  father,  and  a  kind  master.  He  was 
minute  in  his  devotions,  unbounded  in  his  charities,  and  cultivated 
in  his  taste.  But  he  was  reserved,  cold,  and  phlegmatic.  His 
jealousy  of  Sobieski  was  unworthy  of  his  station,  and  his  severities 
in  Hungary  made  him  the  object  of  execration.  He  was  narrow, 
bigoted,  and  selfish.  But  he  lived  in  an  age  of  great  activity,  and 
his  reign  forms  an  era  in  the  militaiy  and  civil  institutions  of  his 
country.  The  artillery  had  been  gradually  lightened,  and  received 
most  of  the  improvements  which  at  present  are  continued.  Bay- 
onets had  been  added  to  muskets,  and  the  use  of  pikes  abandoned. 
Armies  were  increased  from  twenty  or  thirty  thousand  men  to  one 
hundred  thousand,  more  systematically  formed.  A  police  was 
established  in  the  cities,  and  these  were  lighted  and  paved.  Juris- 
prudence was  improved,  and  numerous  grievances  were  redressed. 

Leopold  was  succeeded  by  his  eldest  son,  Joseph,  who  had  an 
energetic  and  aspiring  mind.  His  reign  is  memorable  for  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  great  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  signalized  by 
the  victories  of  Marlborough  and  Eugene,  the  humiliation  of  the 
French,  and  the  career  of  Charles  XIL  of  Sweden.  He  also 
restored  Bohemia  to  its  electoral  rights,  rewarded  the  elector  pala- 


CHAP.  XXIV.]  ACCESSION    OF    MARIA   THERESA.  395 

tine  with  the  honors  and  territories  wrested  from  his  family  by  the 
Thirty  Years'  War,  and  confirmed  the  house  of  Hanover  in  the 
possession  of  the  ninth  electorate.  He  had  nearly  restored  tran- 
quillity to  his  country,  when  he  died  (1711)  of  the  small-pox  — 
a  victim  to  the  ignorance  of  his  physicians.  He  was  a  lover  and 
patron  of  the  arts,  and  spoke  several  languages  with  elegance  and 
fluency.  But  he  had  the  usual  faults  of  absolute  princes ;  was 
prodigal  in  his  expenditures,  irascible  in  his  temper,  fond  of 
pageants  and  pleasure,  and  enslaved  by  women. 

He  was  succeeded  by  his  brother,  the  Archduke  Charles,  under 
the  title  of  Charles  VI.  Soon  after  his  accession,  the  tranquillity 
of  Europe  was  established  by  the  peace  of  Utrecht,  and  Austria 
once  more  became  the  preponderating  power  in  Europe.  But 
Charles  VI.  was  not  capable  of  appreciating  the  greatness  of  his 
position,  or  the  true  sources  of  national  power.  He,  however, 
devoted  himself  zealously  to  the  affairs  of  his  empire,  and  effected 
some  useful  reforms.  As  he  had  no  male  issue,  he  had  drawn  up 
a  solemn  law,  called  the  Pragmatic  Sanction^  according  to  which 
he  transferred  to  his  daughter,  Maria  Theresa,  his  vast  hereditary 
possessions.  He  found  great  difficulty  in  securing  the  assent  of 
the  European  powers  to  this  law ;  but,  after  a  while,  he  effected 
his  object.  On  his  death,  (1740,)  Maria  Theresa  succeeded  to  all 
the  dominions  of  the  house  of  Austria. 

No  princess  ever  ascended  a  throne  under  circumstances  of 
greater  peril,  or  in  a  situation  which  demanded  greater  energy  and 
fortitude.  Her  army  had  dwindled  to  thirty  thousand  ;  her  treas- 
ury contained  only  one  hundred  thousand  florins ;  a  general  scar- 
city of  provisions  distressed  the  people,  and  the  vintage  was  cut 
off  by  the  frost. 

Under  all  these  embarrassing  circumstances,  the  Elector  of  Ba- 
varia laid  claim  to  her  territory,  and  Frederic  II.  marched  into 
Silesia.  It  has  been  already  stated  that  England  sympathized  with 
her  troubles,  and  lent  a  generous  aid.  Her  appeal  to  her  Hunga- 
rian subjects,  and  the  enthusiasm  they  manifested  in  her  cause, 
have  also  been  described.  The  boldness  of  Frederic  and  the  distress 
of  Maria  Theresa  drew  upon  them  the  eyes  of  all  Europe.  Hos- 
tilities were  prosecuted  four  years,  which  resulted  in  the  acquisition 
of  Silesia  by  the  King  of  Prussia.     The  peace  of  Dresden  (1745) 


;i96  MARIA   THERESA    INSTITUTES    REFORMS.    [cHAP.  XXIV. 

gave  a  respite  to  Grermany,  and  Frederic  and  Maria  Theresa 
prepared  for  new  conflicts. 

The  Seven  Years'  War  has  been  briefly  described,  in  connection 
with  the  reign  of  Frederic,  and  need  not  be  further  discussed.  The 
war  was  only  closed  by  the  exhaustion  of  all  the  parties  engaged 
in  it. 

In  1736,  Maria  Theresa  was  married  to  Francis  Stephen,  Grand 
Duke  of  Tuscany,  and  he  was  elected  (1745)  Emperor  of  Ger- 
many, under  the  title  of  Francis  I.  He  died  soon  after  the  peace 
of  Hubertsburg  was  signed,  and  his  son  Joseph  succeeded  to 
the  throne  of  the  empire,  and  was  co-regent,  as  his  father  had 
been,  with  Maria  Theresa.  But  the  empress  queen  continued  to 
be  the  real,  as  she  was  the  legitimate,  sovereign  of  Austria,  and 
took  an  active  part  in  all  the  affairs  of  Europe. 

When  the  tranquillity  of  her  kingdom  was  restored,  she  founded 
various  colleges,  reformed  the  public  schools,  promoted  agriculture, 
and  instituted  many  beneficial  regulations  for  the  prosperity  of  her 
subjects.  She  reformed  the  church,  diminished  the  number  of 
superfluous  clergy,  suppressed  the  Inquisition  and  the  Jesuits,  and 
formed  a  system  of  military  economy  which  surpassed  the  boasted 
arrangements  of  Frederic  II.  "  She  combined  private  economy 
with  public  liberality,  dignity  with  condescension,  elevation  of  soul 
with  humility  of  spirit,  and  the  virtues  of  domestic  life  with  the 
splendid  qualities  which  grace  a  throne."  Her  death,  in  1780, 
was  felt  as  a  general  loss  to  the  people,  who  adored  her ;  and  her 
reign  is  considered  as  one  of  the  most  illustrious  in  Austrian 
annals. 

Her  reign  was,  however,  sullied  by  the  partition  of  Poland,  in 
which  she  weis  concerned  with  Frederic  the  Great  and  Catharine 
II.  Before  this  is  treated,  we  will  consider  the  reign  of  the  Rus- 
sian empress. 


The  reign  of  Catharine  II.,  like  that  of  Maria  Theresa,  is  inter- 
linked with  that  of  Frederic.  But  some  remarks  concerning  her 
predecessors,  after  the  death  of  Peter  the  Great,  are  first  neces- 
sary. 

Catharine,  the  wife  of  Peter,  was  crowned  empress  before  his 


CHAP.  XXIV.]    SUCCESSORS  OF  PETER  THE  GREAT.  397 

death.  The  first  years  of  her  reigii  were  agreeable  to  the  people, 
because  she  diminished  the  taxes,  and  introduced  a  mild  policy  in 
the  government  of  her  subjects.  She  intrusted  to  Prince  Menzi- 
kofF  an  important  share  in  the  government  of  the  realm. 

But  Catharine,  who,  during  the  reign  of  Peter  L,  had  displayed 
so  much  enterprise  and  intrepidity,  very  soon  disdained  business, 
and  abandoned  herself  to  luxury  and  pleasure.  She  died  in  1727, 
and  Peter  11.  ascended  her  throne,  chiefly  in  consequence  of  the 
intrigues  of  MenzikofT,  who,  like  Richelieu,  wished  to  make  the 
emperor  his  puppet. 

Peter  II.  was  only  thirteen  years  of  age  when  he  became  em- 
peror. He  was  the  son  of  Alexis,  and,  consequently,  grandson  of 
Peter  I.  His  youth  did  not  permit  him  to  assume  the  reins  of 
government,  and  every  thing  was  committed  to  the  care  of  Menzi- 
kofT, who  reigned,  for  a  time,  with  absolute  power.  But  he,  at 
last,  incurred  the  displeasure  of  his  youthful  master,  and  was  exiled 
to  Siberia.  But  Peter  II.  did  not  long  survive  the  disgrace  of  his 
minister.     He  died  of  the  small-pox,  in  1730. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Anne,  Duchess  of  Holstein,  and  eldest 
daughter  of  Catharine  I.  But  she  lived  but  a  few  months  after  her 
accession  to  the  throne,  and  the  Princess  Elizabeth  succeeded  her. 

The  Empress  Elizabeth  resembled  her  mother,  the  beautiful 
Catharine,  but  was  voluptuous  and  weak.  She  abandoned  herself 
to  puerile  amusements  and  degrading  follies.  And  she  was  as 
superstitious  as  she  was  debauched.  She  would  continue  whole 
hours  on  her  knees  before  an  image,  to  which  she  spoke,  and 
which  she  ever  consulted ;  and  then  would  turn  from  bigotry  to 
infamous  sensuality.  She  hated  Frederic  II.,  and  assisted  Maria 
Theresa  in  her  struggle^-.  Russia  gained  no  advantage  from  the 
Seven  Years'  War,  except  that  of  accustoming  the  Russians  to  the 
tactics  of  modern  warfare.  She  died  in  1762,  and  was  succeeded 
by  the  Grand  Duke  Peter  Fedorowitz,  son  of  the  Duke  of  Holstein 
and  Anne,  daughter  of  Peter  I.     He  assumed  the  title  of  Peter  III. 

Peter  III.  was  a  weak  prince,  but  disposed  to  be  beneficent.  One 
of  his  first  acts  was  to  recall  the  numerous  exiles  whom  the  jeal- 
ousy of  Elizabeth  had  consigned  to  the  deserts  of  Siberia.  Among 
them  was  Biren,  the  haughty  lover  and  barbarous  minister  of 
the  Empress  Anne,  and  Marshal  Munich,  a  veteran  of  eighty-two 
34 


398  MURDER    OF    PETER    III.  [cHAP.  XXIV. 

years  of  age.  Peter  also  abolished  the  Inquisition,  established  by 
Alexis  Michaelowitz,  and  promoted  commerce,  the  arts,  and  sci- 
ences. He  attempted  to  imitate  the  king  of  Prussia,  for  whom  he 
had  an  extravagant  admiration.  He  set  at  liberty  the  Prussian 
prisoners,  and  made  peace  with  Frederic  II.  He  had  a  great 
respect  for  Germany,  but  despised  the  country  over  which  he  was 
called  to  reign.  But  his  partiality  for  the  Germans,  and  his 
numerous  reforms,  alienated  the  affections  of  his  subjects,  and  he 
was  not  sufficiently  able  to  curb  the  spirit  of  discontent.  He  imitated 
his  immediate  predecessors  in  the  vices  of  drunkenness  and  sensu- 
ality, and  was  guilty  of  great  imprudences.  He  reigned  but  a  few 
months,  being  dethroned  and  murdered.  His  wife,  the  Empress 
Catharine,  was  the  chief  of  the  conspirators  ;  and  she  was  urged 
to  the  bloody  act  by  her  own  desperate  circumstances.  She  was 
obnoxious  to  her  husband,  who  probably  would  have  destroyed  her, 
had  his  life  been  prolonged.  She,  in  view  of  his  hostility,  and 
prompted  by  an  infernal  ambition,  sought  to  dethrone  her  husband. 
She  was  assisted  by  some  of  the  most  powerful  nobles,  and  gained 
over  most  of  the  regiments  of  the  imperial  guard.  The  Arch- 
bishop of  Novgorod  and  the  clergy  were  friendly  to  her,  because 
they  detested  the  reforms  which  Peter  had  attempted  to  make. 
Catharine  became  mistress  of  St.  Petersburg,  and  caused  herself 
to  be  crowned  Empress  of  Russia,  in  one  of  the  principal  churches. 
Peter  had  timely  notice  of  the  revolt,  but  not  the  energy  to  sup- 
press it.  He  listened  to  the  entreaties  of  women,  rather  than  to 
the  counsels  of  those  veteran  generals  who  still  supported  his 
throne.  He  was  timid,  irresolute,  and  vacillating.  He  was 
doomed.  He  was  a  weak  and  infatuated  prince,  and  nothing  could 
save  him.  He  surrendered  himself  into  the  hands  of  Catharine, 
abdicated  his  empire,  and,  shortly  after,  died  of  poison.  His  wife 
seated  herself,  without  further  opposition,  on  his  throne  ;  and  the 
principal  nobles  of  the  empire,  the  army,  and  the  clergy,  took  the 
oath  of  allegiance,  and  the  monarchs  of  Europe  acknowledged 
her  as  the  absolute  sovereign  of  Russia.  In  1763,  she  was  firmly 
established  in  the  power  which  had  been  before  wielded  by  Cath- 
arine I.  She  had  dethroned  an  imbecile  prince,  whom  she  ab- 
horred ;  but  the  revolution  was  accomplished  without  bloodshed, 
and  resulted  in  the  prosperity  of  Russia. 


CHAP.  XXIV.]  ASSASS1\ATI0N    OF    IVAN.  399 

Catharine  was  a  woman  of  great  moral  defects ;  but  she  had 
many  excellences  to  counterbalance  them ;  and  her  rule  was, on  the 
whole,  able  and  beneficent.  She  was  no  sooner  established  in 
the  power  which  she  had  usurped,  than  she  directed  attention  to 
the  affairs  of  her  empire,  and  sought  to  remedy  the  great  evils 
which  existed.  She  devoted  herself  to  business,  advanced  com 
merce  and  the  arts,  regulated  the  finances,  improved  the  jurispru- 
dence of  the  realm,  patronized  all  works  of  internal  improvement, 
rewarded  eminent  merit,  encouraged  education,  and  exercised  a 
liberal  and  enlightened  policy  in  her  intercourse  with  foreign 
powers.  After  engaging  in  business  with  her  ministers,  she  would 
converse  with  scholars  and  philosophers.  With  some  she  studied 
politics,  and  with  others  literature.  She  tolerated  all  religions, 
abolished  odious  courts,  and  enacted  mild  laws.  She  held  out 
great  inducements  for  foreigners  to  settle  in  Russia,  and  founded 
colleges  and  hospitals  in  all  parts  of  her  empire. 

Beneficent  as  her  reforms  were,  she  nevertheless  committed 
some  great  political  crimes.  One  of  these  was  the  assassination 
of  the  dethroned  Ivan,  the  great-grandson  of  the  Czar  Ivan  Alex- 
ejewitsch,  who  was  brother  of  Peter  the  Great.  On  the  death  of 
the  Empress  Anne,  in  1731,  he  had  been  proclaimed  emperor ; 
but  when  Elizabeth  was  placed  upon  the  throne,  the  infant  was 
confined  in  the  fortress  of  Schlussenburg.  Here  he  was  so  closely 
guarded  and  confined,  that  he  was  never  allowed  access  to  the 
open  air  or  the  light  of  day.  On  the  accession  of  Catharine,  he 
was  twenty-three  years  of  age,  and  was  extremely  ignorant  and 
weak.  But  a  conspiracy  was  formed  to  liberate  him,  and  place 
him  on  the  throne.  The  attempt  proved  abortive,  and  the  prince 
perished  by  the  sword  of  his  jailers,  who  were  splendidly  rewarded 
for  their  infamous  services. 

Her  scheme  of  foreign  aggrandizement,  and  especially  her 
interference  in  the  affairs  of  Poland,  caused  the  Ottoman  Porte  to 
declare  war  against  her,  which  war  proved  disastrous  to  Turkey, 
and  contributed  to  aggrandize  the  empire  of  Russia.  The  Turks 
lost  several  battles  on  the  Pruth,  Dniester,  and  Danube ;  the  prov- 
inces of  Wallachia,  and  Moldavia,  and  Bessarabia  submitted  to  the 
Russian  arms ;  while  a  great  naval  victory,  in  the  Mediterranean, 
was  gained  by  Alexis  Orloff,  whose  share  in  the  late  revolution 
had  raised  him  from  the  rank  of  a  simple  soldier  to  that  of  a 


400  DEATH    OF    CATHARINE.  [ciIAP.  XXIV. 

general  of  the  empire,  and  a  favorite  of  the  empress.  The  naval 
defeat  of  the  Turks  at  Tschesme,  by  OrlofT  and  Elphinstone,  was 
one  of  the  most  signal  of  that  age,  and  greatly  weakened  the 
power  of  Turkey.  The  war  was  not  terminated  until  1774,  when 
the  Turks  were  compelled  to  make  peace,  by  the  conditions  of 
which,  Russia  obtained  a  large  accession  of  territory,  a  great  sum 
of  money,  the  free  navigation  of  the  Black  Sea^  and  a  passage 
through  the  Dardanelles. 

In  1772  occurred  the  partition  of  Poland  between  Austria,  Prus- 
sia, and  Russia.  Catharine  and  Frederic  II.  were  the  chief  authors 
of  this  great  political  crime,  which  will  be  treated  in  the  notice  on 
Poland. 

The  reign  of  Catharine  was  not  signalized  by  any  other  great 
political  events  which  affected  materially  the  interests  of  Europe, 
except  the  continuation  of  the  war  with  the  Turks,  which  broke 
out  again  in  1778,  and  which  was  concluded  in  1792,  by  the  treaty 
of  Jassy.  In  this  war.  Prince  Potemkin,  the  favorite  and  prime 
minister  of  Catharine,  greatly  distinguished  himself;  also  General 
Suwarrow,  afterwards  noted  for  his  Polish  campaigns.  In  this 
war  Russia  lost  two  hundred  thousand  men,  and  the  Turks  three 
hundred  and  thirty  thousand,  besides  expending  two  hundred  and 
fifty  millions  of  piasters.  The  most  important  political  conse- 
quence was  the  aggrandizement  of  Russia,  whose  dominion  was 
established  on  the  Black  Sea. 

Catharine,  having  acquired,  either  by  arms  or  intrigues,  almost 
half  of  Poland,  the  Crimea,  and  a  part  of  the  frontiers  of  Turkey, 
then  turned  her  arms  against  Persia.  But  she  died  before  she 
could  realize  her  dreams  of  conquest.  At  her  death,  she  was  the 
most  powerful  sovereign  that  ever  reigned  in  Russia.  She  was 
succeeded  by  her  son,  Paul  I.,  (1796,)  and  her  remains  were  de- 
posited by  the  side  of  her  murdered  husband,  while  his  chief  mur- 
derers, Alexis  Orloff  and  Prince  Baratinski,  were  ordered  to  stand, 
at  her  funeral,  on  each  side  of  his  coffin  as  chief  mourners. 

Catharine,  though  a  woman  of  great  energy  and  talent,  was 
ruled  by  favorites ;  the  most  distinguished  of  whom  were  Gregory 
OrlofT  and  Prince  Potemkin.  The  former  was  a  man  of  brutal 
manners  and  surprising  audacity ;  the  latter  was  more  civilized, 
but  was  a  man  disgraced,  like  OrlofT,  by  every  vice.  His  mem- 
ory, however,  is  still  cherished  in  Russia  on  account  of  his  military 


CHAP.  XXIV.  ^  HER  CHARACTER.  401 

successes.  He  received  more  honors  and  rewards  from  his  sov- 
ereign than  is  recorded  of  any  favorite  and  minister  of  modern 
times.  His  power  was  equal  to  what  Richelieu  enjoyed »  and  his 
fortune  was  nearly  as  great  as  Mazarin's.  He  was  knight  of  the 
principal  orders  of  Prussia,  Sweden,  Poland,  and  Russia,  field- 
marshal,  commander-in-chief  of  the  Russian  armies,  high  admiral 
of  the  fleets,  great  hetman  of  the  Cossacks,  and  chamberlain  of 
the  empress.  He  received  from  her  a  fortune  of  fifty  millions  of 
roubles;  equal  to  nearly  twenty -five  millions  of  dollars.  The^ 
Orloffs  received  also  about  seventeen  millions  in  lands,  and  palaces, 
and  money,  with  forty-five  thousand  peasants. 

Catharine  had  two  passions  which  never  left  her  bi:^  with  her 
last  breath  —  the  love  of  the  other  sex,  which  degenerated  into 
the  most  unbounded  licentiousness,  and  the  love  of  glory,  which 
•  sunk  into  vanity.  She  expended  ninety  millions  of  roubles  on  her 
favorites,  the  number  of  which  is  almost  incredible ;  and  she  was 
induced  to  engage  in  wars,  which  increased  the  burdens  of  her 
subjects. 

With  the  exception  of  these  two  passions,  her  character  is  inter- 
esting and  commanding.  Her  reign  was  splendid,  and  her  court 
magnificent.  Her  institutions  and  mionuments  were  to  Russia  what 
the  magnificence  of  Louis  XIV.  vms  to  France.  She  was  active 
and  regular  in  her  habits  ;  was  nerer  hurried  away  by  anger,  and 
was  never  a  prey  to  dejection  ;  caprice  and  ill  humor  were  never 
perceived  in  her  conduct ;  she  was  humorous,  gay,  and  aflable  ; 
she  appreciated  literature,  and  encouraged  good  institutions ;  and, 
with  all  her  faults,  obtained  the  love  and  reverence  of  her  subjects. 
She  had  not  the  virtues  of  Maria  Theresa,  but  had,  perhaps,  greater 
energy  of  character.  Her  foulest  act  was  her  part  in  the  dis> 
memberment  of  Poland,  which  now  claims  a  notice. 


References.  —  For  the  reign  of  Maria  Theresa,  see  Archdeacon  Coxe's 
Memoirs  of  the  House  of  Austria,  which  is  the  most  interesting  and 
complete.  See  also  Putter's  Constitution  of  the  Germanic  Empire; 
Kolhrausch's  History  of  Germany ;  Heeren's  Modern  History ;  Smyth's 
Lectures  ;  also  a  history  of  Germany,  in  Dr.  Lardner's  Cyclopaedia.  For 
a  life  of  Catharine,  see  Castina's  Life,  translated  by  Hunter ;  Tooke's 
Life  of  Catharine  II. ;  Segur's  Vie  de  Catharine  II. ;  Coxe's  Travels ;  Hee- 
ren's and  Russell's  Modern  History. 

34*    as 


402  CALAMITIES    OF   POLAND.  [cHAP.  XXV. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

CALAMITIES  OF  POLAND. 

No  kingdom  in  Europe  has  been  subjected  to  so  many  misfor- 
tunes and  changes,  considering  its  former  greatness,  as  the  Polish 
monarchy.  Most  of  the  European  states  have  retained  their 
ancient  limits,  for  several  centuries,  without  material  changes, 
hut  Poland  has  been  conquered,  dismembered,  and  plundered.  Its 
ancient  constitution  has  been  completely  subverted,  and  its  exten- 
sive provinces  are  now  annexed  to  the  territories  of  Russia,  Aus- 
tria, and  Prussia.  The  greatness  of  the  national  calamities  has 
t'xcited  the  sympathy  of  Christian  nations,  and  its  unfortunate  fate 
is  generally  lamented. 

In  the  sixteenth  century,  Poland  was  a  greater  state  than  Russia, 
and  was  the  most  powerful  of  the  northern  kingdoms  of  Europe. 
The  Poles,  as  a  nation,  are  not,  however,  of  very  ancient  date. 
Prior  to  the  ninth  century,  they  were  split  up  into  numerous  tribes, 
independent  of  each  other,  and  governed  by  their  respective 
chieftains.  Christianity  was  introduced  in  the  tenth  century,  and 
the  earliest  records  of  the  people  were  preserved  by  the  monks. 
We  know  but  little,  with  certainty,  until  the  time  of  Piast,  who 
united  the  various  states,  and  whose  descendants  reigned  until 
1386,  when  the  dynasty  of  the  Jagellons  commenced,  and  continued 
till  1572.  Under  the  princes  of  this  line,  the  government  was 
arbitrary  and  oppressive.  War  was  the  great  business  and  amuse- 
ment of  the  princes,  and  success  in  it  brought  the  highest  honors. 
The  kings  were,  however,  weak,  cruel,  and  capricious,  ignorant, 
fierce,  and  indolent.  The  records  of  their  reigns  are  the  records 
of  drunkenness,  extortion,  cruelty,  lust,  and  violence  —  the  com- 
mon history  of  all  barbarous  kings.  There  were  some  of  the 
Polish  princes  who  were  benignant  and  merciful,  but  the  great 
majority  of  them,  like  the  Merovingian  and  Carlovingian  princes 
of  the  Dark  Ages,  were  unfit  to  reign,  were  the  slaves  of  super- 
stition, and  the  tools  of  designing  priests.     There  is  a  melancholy 


CHAP.  XXV.]   THE  CROWN  OF  POLAND  MADE  ELECTIVE.       403 

gloom  hanging  over  the  annals  of  the  Middle  Ages,  especially  in 
reference  to  kings.  And  yet  their  reigns,  though  stained  by 
revolting  crimes,  generally  were  to  be  preferred  to  the  anarchy  of 
an  interregnum,  or  the  o\%rgrown  power  of  nobles. 

The  brightest  period  in  the  history  of  Poland  was  during  the 
reigns  of  the  Jagellon  princes,  especially  when  Casimir  I.  held  the 
sceptre  of  empire.  During  his  reign,  Lithuania,  which  then  com- 
prised Hungary,  Bohemia,  and  Silesia,  was  added  to  his  kingdom. 
The  university  of  Cracow  was  founded,  and  Poland  was  the  great 
resort  of  the  Jews,  to  whom  were  committed  the  trade  and  com- 
merce of  the  land.  But  the  rigors  of  the  feudal  system,  and  the 
vast  preponderance  of  the  aristocracy,  proved  unfortunate  for  the 
prosperity  of  the  kingdom.  What  in  England  was  the  foundation 
of  constitutional  liberty,  proved  in  Poland  to  be  subversive  of  all 
order  and  good  government.  In  England,  the  representative  of 
the  ^nation  was  made  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  the  king  of 
humbling  the  great  nobility.  Absolutism  was  established  upon  the 
ruins  of  feudalism.  But,  in  Poland,  the  Diet  of  the  nation  con- 
trolled the  kmg,  and,  as  the  representatives  of  the  nobility  alone, 
perpetuated  the  worst  evils  of  the  feudal  system. 

When  Sigismund  II.,  the  last  male  heir  of  the  house  of  Jagel- 
lon, died,  in  1572,  the  nobles  were  sufficiently  powerful  to  make 
the  crown  elective.  From  this  period  we  date  the  decline  of 
Poland.  The  Reformation,  so  beneficent  in  its  effects,  did  not 
spread  to  this  Sclavonic  country ;  and  the  barbarism  of  the  Mid- 
dle Ages  received  no  check.  On  the  death  of  Sigismund,  the 
nobles  would  not  permit  the  new  sovereign  to  be  elected  by  the 
Diet,  but  only  by  the  whole  body  of  the  nobility.  The  plain  of 
Praga  was  the  place  selected  for  the  election  ;  and,  at  the  time 
appointed,  such  a  vast  number  of  nobles  arrived,  that  the  plain,  of 
twelve  miles  in  circumference,  was  scarcely  large  enough  to  con- 
tain them  and  their  retinues.  There  never  was  such  a  sight  seen 
since  the  crusaders  were  marshalled  on  the  field  of  Chalcedon, 
for  all  the  nobles  were  gorgeously  apparelled,  and  decked  with 
ermine,  gold,  and  jewels.  The  Polish  horseman  frequently  invests 
half  his  fortune  in  his  horse  and  dress.  In  the  centre  of  the  field 
was  the  tent  of  the  late  king,  capable  of  accommodating  eight 
thousand   men.      The   candidates   for   the   crown   were   Ernest, 


404  ELECTION    OF    HENRY,    DUKE    OF    ANJOU.       [cHAP.  XXV. 

Arch-duke  of  Austria ;  the  Czar  of  Russia  ;  a  Swedish  prince , 
and  Henry  of  Valois,  Duke  of  Anjou,  and  brother  of  Charles  IX., 
king  of  France. 

The  first  candidate  was  rejected  because  the  house  of  Austria 
was  odious  to  the  Polish  nobles ;  the  second,  on  account  of  his 
arrogance  ;  and  the  third,  because  he  was  not  powerful  enough  to 
bring  advantage  to  the  republic.  The  choice  fell  on  the  Duke  of 
Anjou ;  and  he,  for  the  title  of  a  king,  agreed  to  the  ignominious 
conditions  which  the  Poles  proposed,  viz.,  that  he  should  not 
attempt  to  influence  the  election  of  his  successors,  or  assume  the 
title  of  heir  of  the  monarchy,  or  declare  war  without  the  consent 
of  the  Diet,  or  impose  taxes  of  any  description,  or  have  power  to 
appoint  his  ambassadors,  or  any  foreigner  to  a  benefice  in  the 
church ;  that  he  should  convoke  the  Diet  every  two  years ;  and 
that  he  should  not  marry  without  its  permission.  He  also  was 
required  to  furnish  four  thousand  French  troops,  in  case  of  war ;  to 
apply  annually,  for  the  sole  benefit  of  the  Polish  state,  a  consid- 
erable part  of  his  hereditary  revenues ;  to  pay  the  debts  of  the 
crown ;  and  to  educate,  at  his  own  expense,  at  Paris  or  Cracow, 
one  hundred  Polish  nobles.  He  had  scarcely  been  crowned 
when  his  brother  died,  and  he  was  called  to  the  throne  of  France. 
But  he  found  it  difficult  to  escape  from  his  kingdom,  the  govern- 
ment of  which  he  found  to  be  burdensome  and  vexatious.  No 
criminal  ever  longed  to  escape  from  a  prison,  more  than  this 
prince  to  break  the  fetters  which  bound  him  to  his  imperious 
subjects.  He  resolved  to  run  away  ;  concealed  his  intentions  with 
great  address ;  gave  a  great  ball  at  his  palace ;  and  in  the  midst 
of  the  festivities,  set  out  with  full  speed  towards  Silesia.  He  was 
pursued,  but  reached  the  territories  of  the  emperor  of  Germany 
before  he  was  overtaken.  He  reached  Paris  in  safety,  and  was 
soon  after  crowned  as  king  of  France. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Stephen,  Duke  of  Transylvania ;  and  he, 
again,  by  Sigismund,  Prince  of  Sweden.  The  two  sons  of  Sigis- 
mund,  successively,  were  elected  kings  of  Poland,  the  last  of 
whom,  John  II.,  was  embroiled  in  constant  war.  It  was  during 
his  disastrous  reign  that  John  Sobieski,  with  ten  thousand  Poles, 
defeated  eighty  thousand  Cossacks,  the  hereditary  enemies  of 
Poland.     On  the  death  of  Michael,  who  had  succeeded  John  II., 


I 


CHAP.  XXV.]     SOBIESKI    ASSISTS  THE    EMPEROR    LEOPOLD.  405 

Sobieski  was  elected  king,  and  he  assumed  the  title  of  John  III. 
He  was  a  native  noble,  and  was  chosen  for  his  military  taients 
and  successes.  Indeed,  Poland  needed  a  strong  arm  to  defend  her. 
Her  decline  had  already  commenced,  and  Sobieski  himself  could 
not  avert  the  ruin  which  impended.  For  some  time,  Poland  en- 
joyed cessation  from  war,  and  the  energies  of  the  monarch  were 
directed  to  repair  the  evils  which  had  disgraced  his  country.  But 
before  he  could  prosecute  successfully  any  useful  reforms,  the  war 
between  the  Turks  and  the  eastern  powers  of  Europe  broke  out, 
and  Vienna  was  besieged  by  an  overwhelming  army  of  two  hun- 
dred thousand  Mohammedans.  The  city  was  bravely  defended, 
but  its  capture  seemed  inevitable.  The  emperor  of  Germany, 
Leopold,  in  his  despair,  implored  the  aid  of  Sobieski.  He  was 
invested  with  the  command  of  the  allied  armies  of  Austrians,  Ba- 
varians, Saxons,  and  Poles,  amounting  to  seventy  thousand  men. 
With  this  force  he  advanced  to  relieve  Vienna.  He  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  attack  the  vast  forces  encamped  beneath  the  walls  of  the 
Austrian  capital,  and  obtained  one  of  the  most  signal  victories  in 
the  history  of  war.  Immense  treasures  fell  into  his  hands,  and 
Vienna  and  Christendom  were  saved. 

But  the  mean-spirited  emperor  treated  his  deliverer  with  arro- 
gance and  chilling  coldness.  No  gratitude  was  exhibited  or  felt. 
But  the  pope  sent  him  the  rarest  of  his  gifts  — "  the  dove  of 
pearls."  Sobieski,  in  spite  of  the  ingratitude  of  Leopold,  pursued 
his  victories  over  the  Turks ;  and,  like  Charles  Martel,  ten  centu- 
ries before,  freed  Europe  from  the  danger  of  a  Mohammedan 
yoke.  But  he  saved  a  serpent,  when  about  to  be  crushed,  which 
turned  and  stung  him  for  his  kindness.  The  dismemberment  of 
his  country  soon  followed  the  deliverance  of  Vienna. 

He  was  succeeded,  in  1696,  by  Frederic  Augustus,  Elector  of 
Saxony,  whose  reign  was  a  constant  succession  of  disasters. 
During  his  reign,  Poland  was  invaded  and  conquered  by  Charles 
XII.  of  Sweden.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Frederic  Augus- 
tus IL,  the  most  beautiful,  extravagant,  luxurious,  and  licentious 
monarch  of  his  age.  But  he  was  a  man  of  elegant  tastes,  and  he 
filled  Dresden  with  pictures  and  works  of  art,  which  are  still 
the  admiration  of  travellers.  His  reign,  as  king  of  Poland,  was 
exceedingly  disastrous.     Muscovite  and  Prussian  armies  traversed 


406  THE    LIBERUM    VETO.  fcHAP.  XXV. 

the  plains  of  Poland  at  pleasure,  and  extorted  whatever  they 
pleased.  Faction  was  opposed  by  faction  in  the  field  and  in  the 
Diet.  The  national  assembly  was  dissolved  by  the  veto,  the 
laws  were  disregarded,  and  brute  force  prevailed  on  every  side. 
The  miserable  peasants  in  vain  besought  the  protection  of  their 
brutal  yet  powerless  lords.  Bands  of  robbers  infested  the  roads, 
and  hunger  invaded  the  cottages.  The  country  rapidly  declined 
in  wealth,  population,  and  public  spirit. 

Under  the  reign  of  Stanislaus  II.,  who  succeeded  Frederic 
Augustus  II.,  in  1764,  the  ambassadors  of  Prussia,  Austria, 
and  Russia,  informed  the  miserable  king  that,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent further  bloodshed,  afid  restore  peace  to  Poland,  the  three 
powers  had  determined  to  insist  upon  their  claims  to  some  of  the 
provinces  of  the  kingdom.  This  barefaced  and  iniquitous  scheme 
for  the  dismemberment  of  Poland  originated  with  Frederic  the 
Great.  So  soon  as  the  close  of  the  Seven  Years'  War  allowed 
him  repose,  he  turned  his  eyes  to  Poland,  with  a  view  of  seizing 
one  of  her  richest  provinces.  Territories  inhabited  by  four  million 
eight  hundred  thousand  people,  were  divided  between  Frederic, 
Maria  Theresa,  and  Catharine  II.  There  were  no  scruples  of 
conscience  in  the  breast  of  Frederic,  or  of  Catharine,  a  woman 
of  masculine  energy,  but  disgraceful  morals.  The  conscience  of 
Maria  Theresa,  however,  long  resisted.  "  The  fear  of  hell,**  said 
she,  "  restrains  me  from  seizing  another's  possessions ;  '*  but 
sophistry  was  brought  to  bear  upon  her  mind,  and  the  lust  of 
dominion  asserted  its  powerful  sway.  This  crime  was  regarded 
with  detestation  by  the  other  powers  of  Europe ;  but  they  were 
too  much  occupied  with  their  own  troubles  to  interfere,  except  by 
expostulation.  England  was  disturbed  by  difficulties  in  the  colo- 
nies, and  France  was  distracted  by  revolutionary  tumults. 

Stanislaus,  robbed  of  one  third  of  his  dominions,  now  directed 
his  attention  to  those  reforms  which  had  been  so  long  imperatively 
needed.  He  intrusted  to  the  celebrated  Zamoyski  the  task  of 
revising  the  constitution.  The  patriotic  chancellor  recommended 
the  abolition  of  the  "  liberum  veto,"  a  fatal  privilege,  by  which  any 
one  of  the  armed  equestrians,  who  assembled  on  the  plain  of  Praga 
to  elect  a  king,  or  deliberate  on  state  affairs,  had  power  to  nullify 
tne  most  important  acts,  and  even  to  dissolve  the  assembly.     A 


CHAP.  XXV.]  THE  FALL  OF  POLAND.  407 

single  word,  pronounced  in  the  vehemence  of  domestic  strife,  or 
by  the  influence  of  external  corruption,  could  plunge  the  nation 
into  a  lethargic  sleep.  And  faction  went  so  far  as  often  to  lead  to 
the  dissolution  of  the  assembly.  The  treasury,  the  army,  the 
civil  authority  then  fell  into  a  state  of  anarchy.  Zamoyski  also 
recommended  the  emancipation  of  serfs,  the  encouragement  of 
commerce,  the  elevation  of  the  trading  classes,  and  the  abolition 
of  the  fatal  custom  of  electing  a  king.  But  the  Polish  nobles, 
infatuated  and  doomed,  opposed  these  wholesome  reforms.  They 
even  had  the  madness  to  invoke  the  aid  of  the  Empress  Catharine 
to  protect  them  in  their  ancient  privileges.  She  sent  an  army  into 
Poland,  and  great  disturbances  resulted. 

Too  late,  at  last,  the  nobles  perceived  their  folly,  and  adopted 
some  of  the  proposed  reforms.  But  these  reforms  gave  a  new 
pretence  to  the  aUied  powers  for  a  second  dismemberment.  An 
army  of  one  hundred  thousand  men  invaded  Poland,  to  effect  a 
new  partition.  The  unhappy  country,  without  fortified  towns 
or  mountains,  abandoned  by  all  the  world,  distracted  by  divisions, 
and  destitute  of  fortresses  and  military  stores,  was  crushed  by  the 
power  of  gigantic  enemies.  There  were  patriotism  and  bravery 
left,  but  no  union  or  organized  strength.  The  patriots  made  a 
desperate  struggle  under  Kosciusko,  a  Lithuanian  noble,  but  were 
forced  to  yield  to  inevitable  necessity.  Warsaw  for  a  time  held 
out  against  fifty  thousand  men ;  but  the  Polish  hero  was  defeated 
in  a  decisive  engagement,  and  unfortunately  taken  prisoner.  His 
countrymen  still  rallied,  and  another  bloody  battle  was  fought  at 
Praga,  opposite  Warsaw,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Vistula,  and  ten 
thousand  were  slain ;  Praga  was  reduced  to  a  heap  of  ruins ; 
and  twelve  thousand  citizens  were  slaughtered  in  cold  blood. 
Warsaw  soon  after  surrendered,  Stanislaus  was  sent  as  a  captive 
to  Russia,  and  the  final  partition  of  the   kingdom   was   made. 

"  Sarmatia  fell,"  but  not  "  unwept,"  or  "  without  a  crime." 
"  She  fell,"  says  Alison,  "  a  victim  of  her  own  dissensions,  of  the 
chimera  of  equality  falsely  pursued,  and  the  rigor  of  aristocracy 
unceasingly  maintained.  The  eldest  born  of  the  European  family 
was  the  first  to  perish,  because  she  had  thwarted  all  the  ends  of 
the  social  union;  because  she  united  the  turbulence  of  demo- 
cratic to  the  exclusion  of  aristocratic  societies :  because  she  had 


408  THE    FALL    OF    POLAND.  [cHAP.  XXV. 

the  vacillation  of  a  republic  without  its  energy,  and  tlie  oppression 
of  a  monarchy  without  its  stability.  The  Poles  obstinately  refused 
to  march  with  other  nations  in  the  only  road  to  civilization  ;  they 
had  valor,  but  it  could  not  enforce  obedience  to  the  laws ;  it  could 
not  preserve  domestic  tranquillity ;  it  could  not  restrain  the  vio- 
lence of  petty  feuds  and  intestine  commotions ;  it  could  not  pre- 
serve the  proud  nobles  from  unbounded  dissipation  and  corruption ; 
it  could  not  prevent  foreign  powers  from  interfering  in  the  aifairs 
of  the  kingdom ;  it  could  not  dissolve  the  union  of  these  powers 
with  discontented  parties  at  home  ;  it  could  not  inspire  the  slowly- 
moving  machine  of  government  with  vigor,  when  the  humblest 
partisan,  corrupted  with  foreign  money,  could  arrest  it  with  a  word ; 
it  could  not  avert  the  entrance  of  foreign  armies  to  support  the 
factious  and  rebellious ;  it  could  not  uphold,  in  a  divided  country, 
the  national  independence  against  the  combined  effects  of  foreign 
and  domestic  treason ;  finally,  it  could  not  effect  impossibilities, 
nor  turn  aside  the  destroying  sword  which  had  so  long  impended 
over  it." 

But  this  great  crime  was  attended  with  retribution.  Prussia,  in 
her  efforts  to  destroy  Poland,  paralyzed  her  armies  on  the  Rhine. 
Suwarrow  entered  Warsaw  when  its  spires  were  reddened  by  the 
fires  of  Praga  ;  but  the  sack  of  the  fallen  capital  was  forgotten 
in  the  conflagration  of  Moscow.  The  remains  of  the  soldiers  of 
Kosciusko  sought  a  refuge  in  republican  France,  and  served  with 
distinction,  in  the  armies  of  Napoleon,  against  the  powers  that  had 
dismembered  their  country. 

The  ruin  of  Poland,  as  an  independent  state,  was  not  fully  ac- 
complished until  the  year  1832,  when  it  was  incorporated  into  the 
great  empire  of  Russia.  But  the  history  of  the  late  revolution, 
Vith  all  its  melancholy  results,  cannot  be  well  presented  in  this 
connection. 

References.  —  Fletcher's  History  of  Poland.  Rulhi^re's  Histoire  dc 
I'Anarchie  dePologne.  Coyer's  Vie  de  Sobieski.  Parthenay's  History  of 
Augustus  II.  Hordynski's  History  of  the  late  Polish  Revolution.  Also 
see  Lives  of  Frederic  II.,  Maria  Theresa,  and  Catharine  II. ;  contempora- 
neous histories  of  Prussia,  Russia,  and  Austria ;  Alison's  History  of 
Europe  ;  Smyth's  Lectures ;  Russell's  Modern  Europe ;  Heeren's  Modern 
History. 


CHAP.  XXVI.]  SARACENIC    EMPIRE.  *   409 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 

THE  DECLINE  OF  THE  OTTOMAN  EMPIKE. 

While  the  great  monarchies  of  Western  Europe  were  strug- 
gling for  preeminence,  and  were  developing  resources  greater 
than  had  ever  before  been  exhibited  since  the  fall  of  the  Roman 
empire,  that  great  power  which  had  alarmed  and  astonished  Chris- 
tendom in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  began  to  show 
the  signs  of  weakness  and  decay.  Nothing,  in  the  history  of 
society,  is  more  marvellous  than  the  rise  of  Mohammedan  king- 
doms. The  victories  of  the  Saracens  and  Turks  were  rapid  and 
complete ;  and  in  the  tenth  century,  they  were  the  most  successful 
warriors  on  the  globe,  and  threatened  to  subvert  the  world.  They 
had  planted  the  standard  of  the  Prophet  on  the  walls  of  Eastern 
capitals,  and  had  extended  their  conquests  to  India  on  the  east,  and 
to  Spain  on  the  west.  Powerful  Mohammedan  states  had  arisen 
in  Asia,  Africa,  and  Europe,  and  the  Crusaders  alone  arrested  the 
progress  of  these  triumphant  armies.  The  enthusiasm  which  the 
doctrines  of  Mohammed  had  kindled,  cannot  easily  be  explained ; 
but  it  was  fresh,  impetuous,  and  self-sacrificing.  Successive  armies 
of  Mohammedan  invaders  overwhelmed  the  ancient  realms  of 
civilization,  and  reduced  the  people  whom  they  conquered  and 
converted  to  a  despotic  yoke.  But  success  enervated  the  victorious 
conquerors  of  the  East,  the  empire  of  the  Caliphs  was  broken 
up,  and  great  changes  took  place  even  in  those  lands  where  the 
doctrines  of  the  Koran  prevailed.  Mohammed  perpetuated  a  reli- 
gion, but  not  an  empire.  Different  Saracenic  chieftains  revolted 
from  the  "  Father  of  the  Faithful,"  and  established  separate  king- 
doms, or  viceroyalties,  nearly  independent  of  the  acknowledged 
successors  of  Mohammed.  The  Saracenic  empire  was  early 
dismembered,  and  the  sultans  of  Egypt,  Spain,  and  Syria  con- 
tested for  preeminence.  * 

But  a  new  power  arose  on  the  ruins  of  the  Saracen  empire,  and 
became  the  enthusiastic  defenders  of  the  religion  of  Islam.  The 
35 


410  RISE    OF    THE    TURKS.  [cHAP.  XXVI. 

Turks  were  an  obscure  tribe  of  barbarians  when  Bagdad  was  tiie 
seat  of  a  powerful  monarchy.  Their  origin  has  been  traced  to 
the  wilds  of  Scythia ;  but  they  early  deserted  their  native  forests 
in  search  of  more  fruitful  regions.  When  Apulia  and  Sicily  were 
subdued  by  the  Norman  pirates,  a  swarm  of  these  Scythian  shep- 
herds settled  in  Armenia,  probably  in  the  ninth  century,  and,  by 
their  valor  and  simplicity,  soon  became  a  powerful  tribe.  Not 
long  after  they  were  settled  in  their  new  abode,  the  Sultan  of 
Persia  invoked  their  aid  to  assist  him  in  his  wars  against  the  Ca- 
liph of  Bagdad,  his  great  rival.  The  Turks  complied  with  his 
request,  and  their  arms  were  successful.  The  sultan  then  refused 
to  part  with  such  useful  auxiliaries,  and  moreover,  fearing  their 
strength,  designed  to  employ  them  in  his  wars  against  the  Hindoos, 
and  to  shut  them  up  in  the  centre  of  his  dominions.  The  Turk- 
mans rebelled,  withdrew  into  a  mountainous  part  of  the  country, 
became  robbers,  and  devastated  the  adjacent  countries.  The  band 
of  robbers  gradually  swelled  into  a  powerful  army,  gained  a  great 
victory  over  the  troops  of  the  Sultan  Mohammed,  and  placed 
their  chieftain  upon  the  Persian  throne,  (1038.)  According  to 
Gibbon,  the  new  monarch  was  chosen  by  lot,  and  Seljuk  had  the 
fortune  to  win  the  prize  of  conquest,  and  became  the  founder 
of  the  dynasty  of  the  Shepherd  kings.  During  the  reign  of  his 
grandson  Togrul,  the  ancient  Persian  princes  were  expelled,  and 
the  Turks  embraced  the  religion  of  the  conquered.  In  1055,  the 
Turkish  sultan  delivered  the  Caliph  of  Bagdad  from  the  arms 
of  the  Caliph  of  Egypt,  who  disputed  with  him  the  title  of  Com- 
mander of  the  Faithful.  For  this  service  he  was  magnificently 
rewarded  by  the  grateful  successor  of  the  Prophet,  who,  at  that 
time,  banqueted  in  his  palace  at  Bagdad  —  a  venerable  phantom 
of  power.  The  victorious  sultan  was  publicly  commissioned  as 
lieutenant  of  the  caliph,  and  he  was  virtually  seated  on  the  throne 
of  the  Abbassides.  Shortly  after,  the  Turkish  conqueror  invaded 
the  falling  empire  of  the  Greeks,  and  its  Asiatic  provinces  were 
irretrievably  lost.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  eleventh  century,  the 
Turkish  power  was  established  in  Asia  Minor,  and  Jerusalem  itself 
*had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  sultan.  He  exacted  two  pieces 
of  gold  from  the  Christian  pilgrim,  and  treated  him,  moreover, 
with  greater  cruelty  than  the  Saracens  had  ever  exercised.     The 


CHAP.  XXVI.]  TURKISH    CONQUERORS.  411 

extortion  and  oppression  of  the  Turkish  masters  of  the  Sacred  City- 
led  to  the  Crusades  and  the  final  possession  of  Western  Asia  by 
the  followers  of  the  Prophet.  The  Turkish  power  constantly 
increased  with  the  decline  of  the  Saracenic  and  Greek  empires ; 
but  the  Seljukian  dynasty,  like  that  of  Abbassides  at  Bagdad,  at 
last  run  out,  and  Othman,  a  soldier  of  fortune,  became  sultan  of 
the  Turks.  He  is  regarded  as  the  founder  of  the  Ottoman  empire  ; 
and  under  his  reign,  from  1299  to  1326,  the  Moslems  made  rapid 
strides  in  the  progress  of  aggrandizement. 

Orkham,  his  son,  instituted  the  force  of  the  Janizaries,  completed 
the  conquest  of  Bithynia,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  Turkish  power 
in  Europe.  Under  his  successor,  Amurath  I.,  Adrianople  became 
the  capital  of  the  Ottoman  empire,  and  the  rival  of  Constantinople. 
Bajazet  succeeded  Amurath,  and  his  conquests  extended  from  the 
Euphrates  to  the  Danube.  In  1396,  he  defeated,  at  Nicopolis,  a 
confederate  army  of  one  hundred  thousand  Christians  ;  and,  in  the 
intoxication  of  victory,  declared  that  he  would  feed  his  horse  with 
a  bushel  of  oats  on  the  altar  of  St.  Peter,  at  Rome.  Had  it  not 
been  for  the  victories  of  Tamerlane,  Constantinople,  which  con- 
tained within  its  walls  the  feeble  fragments  of  a  great  empire,  would 
also  have  fallen  into  his  hands.  He  was  unsuccessful  in  his  war 
with  the  great  conqueror  of  Asia,  and  was  defeated  at  the  battle 
of  Angora,  (1402,)  and  taken  captive,  and  carried  to  Samarcand, 
by  Tamerlane,  in  an  iron  cage. 

The  great  Bajazet  died  in  captivity,  and  Mohammed  I.  succeeded 
to  his  throne.  He  restored,  on  a  firmer  basis,  the  fabric  of  the 
Ottoman  monarchy,  and  devoted  himself  to  the  arts  of  peace. 
His  successor,  Amurath  11. ,  continued  hostilities  with  the  Greeks, 
and  laid  siege  to  Constantinople.  But  this  magnificent  city,  the 
last  monument  of  Roman  greatness,  resisted  the  Turkish  arms 
only  for  a  while.  In  1453,  it  fell  before  an  irresistible  force  of 
three  hundred  thousand  men,  supported  by  a  fleet  of  three  hun- 
dred sail.  The  Emperor  Constantine  succeeded  in  maintaining  a 
siege  of  fifty-three  days;  and  the  religion  and  empire  of  the 
Christians  were  trodden  to  the  dust  by  the  Moslem  conquerors. 
The  city  was  sacked,  the  people  were  enslaved,  and  the  Church 
of  St.  Sophia  was  despoiled  of  the  oblations  of  ages,  and  converted 
into  a  Mohammedan  mosque.     One  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 


412  PROGRESS    OF    THE    TURKS.  [cHAP.  XXVI. 

manuscripts  perished  in  the  sack  of  Constantinople,  and  the 
palaces  and  treasure  of  the  Greeks  were  transferred  to  semi- 
barbarians. 

From  that  time,  the  Byzantine  capital  became  the  seat  of  the 
Ottoman  empire ;  and,  for  more  than  two  centuries,  Turkish  armies 
excited  the  fears  and  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  world.  They 
gradually  subdued  and  annexed  Macedonia,  the  Peloponnesus, 
Epirus,  Bulgaria,  Servia,  Bosnia,  Armenia,  Cyprus,  Syria,  Egypt, 
India,  Tunis,  Algiers,  Media,  Mesopotamia,  and  a  part  of  Hungary, 
to  the  dominions  of  the  sultan.  In  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Otto- 
man empire  was  the  most  powerful  in  the  world.  Nor  should  we 
be  surprised,  in  view  of  the  great  success  of  the  Turks,  when  we 
remember  their  singular  bravery,  their  absorbing  ambition,  their 
almost  incredible  obedience  to  the  commands  of  the  sultan,  and 
the  unity  which  pervaded  the  national  councils.  They  also  fought 
to  extend  their  religion,  to  which  they  were  blind  devotees.  After 
the  capture  of  Constantinople,  a  succession  of  great  princes  sat  on 
the  most  absolute  throne  known  in  modem  times  ;  men  disgraced 
by  many  crimes,  but  still  singularly  adapted  to  extend  their  dominion. 

The  progress  of  the  Turks  justly  alarmed  the  Emperor  Charles 
v.,  and  he  exerted  all  his  energies  to  unite  the  German  princes 
against  them,  but  unsuccessfully.  The  Sultan  Solyman,  called  the 
Magnificent^  maintained  his  supremacy  over  Transylvania,  Walla- 
chia,  and  Moldavia,  ravaged  Hungary,  wrested  Rhodes  from  the 
Knights  of  St.  John,  conquered  the  whole  of  Arabia,  and  attacked 
the  Portuguese  dominion  in  India.  He  raised  the  Turkish  empire 
to  the  highest  pitch  of  its  greatness,  and  died  while  besieging 
Sigeth,  as  he  was  completing  the  conquest  of  Hungary.  His 
empire  was  one  vast  camp,  and  his  decrees  were  dated  from  the 
imperial  stirrup.  The  iron  sceptre  which  he  and  his  successors 
wielded  was  imbrued  in  blood ;  and  discipline  alone  was  the  poli- 
tics of  his  soldiers,  and  rapine  their  resources. 

Selim  II.  succeeded  Solyman,  and  set  the  ruinous  example  of 
not  gomg  himself  to  the  wars,  and  of  carrying  them  on  by  his 
lieutenants.  His  son,  Murad  III.,  penetrated  into  Russia  and 
Poland,  and  made  war  on  the  Emperor  of  Germany.  Mohammed 
III.,  who  died  in  1604,  murdered  all  his  brothers,  nineteen  in  num- 
ber, and  executed  his  own  son.     It  was  usual,  when  an  emperor 


I 


CHAP.  XXVI.]  DECLINE    OF    TURKISH   POWER.  413 

niounted  the  throne,  for  him  to  put  to  death  his  brothers  and 
nephews.  Indeed,  the  characters  of  the  sultans  were  marked  by- 
unusual  ferocity  and  jealousy,  and  they  were  unscrupulous  in  the 
means  they  took  to  advance  their  power.  The  world  has  never 
seen  more  suspicious  tyrants ;  and  it  ever  must  excite  our  wonder 
that  they  were  so  unhesitatingly  obeyed.  But  they  were,  however, 
sometimes  dethroned  by  the  Janizaries,  who  constituted  a  sort  of 
imperial  guard.  Osman  II.,  fearing  their  power,  and  disgusted  with 
their  degeneracy,  resolved  to  destroy  them,  as  dangerous  to  the  state. 
But  his  design  was  discovered,  and  he  himself  lost  his  hfe,  (1622.) 
Several  monsters  of  tyranny  and  iniquity  succeeded  him,  whose 
reigns  were  disgraced  by  every  excess  of  debauchery  and  cruelty. 
Their  subjects,  however,  had  not,  as  yet,  lost  vigor,  temperance, 
and  ambition,  and  still  continued  to  furnish  troops  unexampled 
for  discipline  and  bravery,  and  bent  on  conquest  and  dominion. 

The  Turkish  power  received  no  great  checks  until  the  reign  of 
Mohammed  IV.,  during  which  Sobieski  defeated  an  immense 
army,  which  had  laid  siege  to  Vienna.  By  the  peace  of  Carlo- 
vitz,  in  1699,  Transylvania  was  ceded  to  the  Emperor  of  Ger- 
many, and  a  barrier  was  raised  against  Mohammedan  invasion. 

The  Russians,  from  the  time  of  Peter  the  Great,  looked  with 
great  jealousy  on  the  power  of  the  sultan,  and  several  wars  were 
the  result.  No  Russian  sovereign  desired  the  humiliation  of  the 
Porte  more  than  Catharine  II.  A  bloody  contest  ensued,  signaHzed 
by  the  victories  of  Galitzin,  Suwarrow,  Romanzoff,  and  OrlofT, 
by  which  Turkey  became  a  second  class  power,  no  longer  feared 
by  the  European  states. 

From  the  peace  of  Carlovitz,  the  decline  of  the  Ottoman  empire 
has  been  gradual,  but  marked,  owing  to  the  indifference  of  the 
Turks  to  all  modern  improvements,  and  a  sluggish,  conservative 
policy,  hostile  to  progress,  and  sceptical  of  civilization.  The 
Turks  have  ever  been  bigoted  Mohammedans,  and  hostile  to  Eu- 
ropean influences.  The  Oriental  dress  has  been  preserved  in  Con- 
stantinople, and  all  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  people  are 
similar  to  what  they  were  in  Asia  several  centuries  ago. 

One  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  Turkish  government,  in  the  most 
flourishing  period  of  its  history,  was  the  institution  of  the  Janiza- 
ries —  a  guard  of  soldiers,  to  whom  was  intrusted  the  guardianship 
35* 


414  TURKISH   INSTITUTIONS.  [cHAP.  XXVI. 

of  the  sultan,  and  the  protection  of  his  capital.  When  warlike 
and  able  princes  were  seated  on  the  throne,  this  institution  proved 
a  great  support  to  the  government ;  but  when  the  reins  were  held 
by  effeminate  princes,  the  Janizaries,  like  the  PrsBtorian  Guards  of 
Rome,  acquired  an  undue  ascendency,  and  even  deposed  the  mon- 
archs  whom  they  were  bound  to  obey.  They  were  insolent,  extor- 
tionate, and  extravagant,  and  became  a  great  burden  to  the  state. 
At  first  they  were  brave  and  resolute ;  but  they  gradually  lost  their 
skill  and  their  courage,  were  uniformly  beaten  in  the  later  wars 
with  the  Russians,  and  retained  nothing  of  the  soldier  but  the 
name.  Mahmoud  II.,  in  our  own  time,  succeeded  in  dissolving 
this  da^ge^ous  body,  and  in  introducing  European  tactics  into  his 
army. 

The  Turkish  institutions  have  reference  chiefly  to  the  military 
character  of  the  nation.  All  Mussulmans,  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  are 
soldiers,  to  whom  the  extension  of  the  empire  and  the  propagation 
of  their  faith  were  the  avowed  objects  of  warfare.  They  may  be 
regarded,  wherever  they  have  conquered,  as  military  colonists, 
exercising  great  tyranny,  and  treating  all  vanquished  subjects  with 
contempt.  The  government  has  ever  been  a  pure  despotism,  and 
both  the  executive  and  legislative  authorities  have  been  vested  in 
the  sultan.  He  is  the  sole  fountain  of  honor ;  for,  in  Turkey, 
birth  confers  no  privilege.  His  actions  are  regarded  as  prescribed 
by  an  inevitable  fate,  and  his  subjects  suffer  with  resignation.  The 
evils  of  despotism  are  aggravated  by  the  ignorance  and  effeminacy 
of  those  to  whom  power  is  intrusted,  although  the  grand  vizier, 
who  is  the  prime  minister  of  the  empire,  is  generally  a  man  of 
great  experience  and  talent.  All  the  laws  of  the  country  are 
founded  upon  the  precepts  of  the  Koran,  the  example  of  Moham- 
med, the  precepts  of  the  four  first  caliphs,  and  the  decision  of 
learned  doctors  upon  disputed  cases.  Justice  is  administered 
promptly,  but  without  much  regard  to  equity  or  mercy ;  and  the 
course  of  the  grand  vizier  is  generally  marked  with  blood.  The 
character  of  the  people  partakes  of  the  nature  oi"  their  govern- 
ment, religion,  and  climate.  They  are  arrogant,  ignorant,  and 
austere ;  passing  from  devotion  to  obscenity ;  fastidiously  abste- 
mious in  some  things,  and  grossly  sensual  in  others.  They  have 
cherished  the  virtues  of  hospitality,  and  are  fond  of  conversation ; 


CHAP.  XXVI.]  TURKISH   CHARACTER,  415 

but  their  domestic  life  is  spent  in  voluptuous  idleness,  and  is  dull 
and  insipid  compared  with  that  of  Europeans.  But  the  Turks  have 
degenerated.  In  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  they  were 
simple,  brave,  and  religious.  They  founded  an  immense  empire 
on  the  ruins  of  Asiatic  monarchies,  and  filled  the  world  with  the 
terror  of  their  arms.  For  two  hundred  years  their  power  has  been 
retrograding,  and  there  is  much  reason  now  to  believe  that  a  total 
eclipse  of  their  glory  is  soon  to  take  place. 


Repekences.  —  See  Knolle's  History  of  Turkey.  Eton's  Survey  of  the 
Turkish.  Empire.  Upham's  History  of  the  Ottoman  Empire.  Encyclo- 
paedia Britannica.  Heeren's  Modem  History.  Madden's  Travels  in 
Turkey.    Russell's  Modern  Europe.    Life  of  Catharine  II. 


416  MILITARY   SUCCESSES   IN    AMERICA.       [cHAP.  XXVII. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

REIGN   OF   GEORGE    III.   TO  THE    ADMINISTRATION  OP 
WILLIAM  PITT. 

Great  subjects  were  discussed  in  England,  and  great  events 
happened  in  Anjerica,  during  the  latter  years  of  the  reigns  of  Fred- 
eric II.,  Catharine  II.,  and  Maria  Theresa.  These  now  demand 
attention. 

George  III.  ascended  the  throne  of  Great  Britain  at  a  period  of 
unparalleled  prosperity,  when  the  English  arms  were  victorious 
in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  when  commerce  and  the  arts  had 
greatly  enriched  his  country  and  strengthened  its  political  impor- 
tance. By  the  peace  of  Paris,  (1763,)  the  dominions  of  George 
III.  were  enlarged,  and  the  country  over  which  he  reigned  was 
the  most  powerful  in  Europe. 

Mr.  George  Grenville  succeeded  the  Earl  of  Bute  as  the  prime 
minister  of  the  king,  and  he  was  chiefly  assisted  by  the  Earls  of 
Egremont  and  Halifax.  His  administration  was  signalized  by  the 
prosecution  of  Wilkes,  and  by  schemes  for  the  taxation  of  the 
American  colonies. 

Mr.  Wilkes  was  a  member  of  parliament,  but  a  man  of  ruined 
fortunes  and  profligate  morals.  As  his  circumstances  were  des- 
perate, he  applied  to  the  ministry  for  some  post  of  emolument ;  but 
his  application  was  rejected.  Failure  enraged  him,  and  he  swore 
revenge,  and  resolved  to  libel  the  ministers,  under  the  pretext  of 
exercising  the  liberty  of  the  press.  He  was  editor  of  the  North 
Briton,  a  periodical  publication  of  some  talent,  but  more  bitterness. 
In  the  forty-fifth  number,  he  assailed  the  king,  charging  him  with 
a  direct  falsehood.  The  charge  should  have  been  dismissed  with 
contempt;  for  it  was  against  the  dignity  of  the  government  to 
refute  an  infamous  slander.  But,  in  an  evil  hour,  it  was  thought 
expedient  to  vindicate  the  honor  of  the  sovereign  ;  and  a  warrant 
was  therefore  issued  against  the  editor,  publisher,  and  printer  of 
the  pubUcation.    The  oflScers  of  the  law  entered  Wilkes's  house 


CHAP.  XXVII.]  PROSECUTION    OF    WILKilS.  41T 

late  one  evening,  seized  his  papers,  and  corrimitted  him  to  the 
Tower.  He  sued  out  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  in  consequence  of 
which  he  was  brought  up  to  Westminster  Hall.  Being  a  member 
of  parliament,  and  a  man  of  considerable  abilities  and  influence, 
his  case  attracted  attention.  The  judges  decided  that  his  arrest 
was  illegal,  since  a  member  of  parliament  could  not  be  imprisoned 
except  for  treason,  felony,  or  breach  of  the  peace.  He  had  not 
committed  any  of  these  crimes,  for  a  libel  had  only  a  tendency  to 
disturb  the  peace.  Still,  had  he  been  a  private  person,  his  im- 
prisonment would  have  been  legal ;  but  being  unconstitutional,  he 
was  discharged.  Lord  Chief  Justice  Pratt  gained  great  popularity 
by  his  charge  in  favor  of  the  liberation  of  Wilkes,  and  ever  nobly 
defended  constitutional  liberty.  He  is  better  known  as  Lord  Cam- 
den, the  able  lord  chancellor  and  statesman  during  a  succeeding 
administration,  and  one  of  the  greatest  lawyers  England  has 
produced,  ranking  with  Lord  Hardwicke,  Lord  Ellenborough,  and 
Lord  Eldon. 

t  After  the  discharge  of  Wilkes,  the  attorney-general  was  then 
ordered  to  commence  a  state  prosecution,  and  he  was  arraigned 
at  the  bar  of  the  House  of  Commons.  It  was  voted,  by  a  great 
majority,  that  the  forty-fifth  number  of  the  North  Briton  was  a 
scandalous  and  seditious  libel,  and  tending  to  excite  traitorous 
insurrections.  It  was  further  voted  that  the  paper  should  be 
burned  by  the  common  hangman.  Wilkes  then  complained  to  the 
House  of  a  breach  of  privilege,  which  complaint,  being  regular, 
was  considered.  But  the  Commons  decided  that  the  privilege  of 
parliament  does  not  extend  to  a  libel,  which  resolution  was  against 
the  decision  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  and  the  precedents  upon 
record  in  their  own  journals.  However  scandalous  and  vulgar  the 
vituperation  of  Wilkes,  and  especially  disgraceful  in  a  member  of 
parliament,  still  his  prosecution  was  an  attack  on  the  constitution. 
Wilkes  was  arrested  on  what  is  called  a  general  warranty  which, 
if  often  resorted  to,  would  be  fatal  to  the  liberties  of  the  people. 
Many,  who  strongly  disliked  the  libeller,  still  defended  him  in  this 
instance,  among  whom  were  Pitt,  Beckford,  Legge,  Yorke,  and 
Sir  George  Saville.  But  party  spirit  and  detestation  of  Wilkes 
triumphed  over  the  constitution,  and  the  liberties  of  members  of 
parliament  were  abridged  even  by  themselves.     But  Wilkes  was 

2C 


418  CHTTRCHILL.  [cHAP.  XIVIl. 

not  discouraged,  and  immediately  brought  an  action,  in  Westmin- 
ster Hall,  against  the  Earl  of  Halifax,  the  secretary  of  state,  for 
seizing  his  papers,  and,  after  a  hearing  of  fifteen  hours,  before 
Lord  Chief  Justice  Pratt  and  a  special  jury,  obtained  a  verdict  in 
his  favor  of  one  thousand  pounds  damages  and  costs. 

While  the  Commons  were  prosecuting  Wilkes  for  a  libel,  the 
Lords  also  continued  the  prosecution.  Wilkes,  in  conjunction  with 
Potter,  a  dissipated  son  of  Archbishop  Potter,  during  some  of  their 
bacchanalian  revels,  had  written  a  blasphemous  and  obscene  poem, 
after  the  model  of  Pope's  Essay  on  Man,  called  An  Essay  on 
Woman.  The  satire  was  not  published,  but  a  few  copies  of  it  were 
printed  privately  for  the  authors.  Lord  Sandwich  had  contrived 
to  secure  a  copy  of  it,  and  read  it  before  the  House  ;  and  the  Lords, 
indignant  and  disgusted,  voted  an  address  to  the  king  to  institute  a 
prosecution  against  the  author.  The  Lords,  by  so  doing,  departed 
from  the  dignity  of  their  order,  and  their  ordinary  functions,  and 
their  persecution  served  to  strengthen,  instead  of  weaken,  the 
cause  of  Wilkes. 

Associated  with  him,  in  his  writings  and  his  revels,  was  the 
poet  Churchill,  a  clergyman  of  the  Establishment,  but  as  open 
a  contemner  of  decency  as  Wilkes  himself.  For  some  years,  his 
poetry  had  proved  as  bad  as  his  feermons,  his  time  being  spent  in 
low  dissipation.  An  ill-natured  criticism  on  his  writings  called 
forth  his  energies,  and  he  started,  all  at  once,  a  giant  in  numbers, 
with  all  the  fire  of  Dryden  and  all  the  harmony  of  Pope.  Imagi- 
nation, wit,  strength,  and  sense,  were  crowded  into  his  compo- 
sitions ;  but  he  was  careless  of  both  matter  and  manner,  and  wrote 
just  what  came  in  his  way.  "This  bacchanalian  priest,"  says 
Horace  Walpole,  "now  mouthing  patriotism,  and  now  venting 
libertinism,  the  scourge  of  bad  men,  and  scarce  better  than  the 
worst,  debauching  wives,  and  protecting  his  gown  by  the  weight 
of  his  fist,  engaged  with  Wilkes  in  his  war  on  the  Scots,  and  set 
himself  up  as  the  Hercules  that  was  to  cleanse  the  state  and 
punish  its  oppressors.  And  true  it  is,  the  storm  that  saved  us 
was  raised  in  taverns  and  night-cellars ;  so  much  more  eflfectual 
were  the  orgies  of  Churchill  and  Wilkes  than  the  dagger  of  Cato 
and  Brutus.  Earl  Temple  joined  them  in  mischief  and  dissipa- 
tion, and  irhispered  where  they  might  find  torches,  though  he 


CHAP,  xxvii.]  Grafton's  administration.  419 

took  care  never  to  be  seen  to  light  one  himself.  This  tnumvirate 
has  even  made  me  reflect  that  nations  are  most  commonly  saved  by 
the  worst  men  in  them.  The  virtuous  are  too  scrupulous  to  go 
the  lengths  which  are  necessary  to  rouse  the  people  against  their 
tyrants." 

The  ferment  created  by  the  prosecution  of  Wilkes  led  to  the 
resignation  of  Mr.  Grenville,  in  1765,  and  the  Marquis  of  Rock- 
ingham succeeded  him  as  head  of  the  administration.  He  con- 
tinued, however,  the  prosecution.  He  retained  his  place  but  a 
few  months,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  the 
object  of  such  virulent  invective  in  the  Letters  of  Junius,  a  work 
without  elevation  of  sentiment,  without  any  appeal  to  generous 
principle,  without  recognition  of  the  eternal  laws  of  justice,  and 
without  truthfulness,  and  yet  a  work  which  produced  a  great  sen- 
sation, and  is  to  this  day  regarded  as  a  masterpiece  of  savage 
and  unscrupulous  sarcasm.  The  Duke  of  Grafton  had  the  same 
views  as  his  predecessor  respecting  Wilkes,  who  had  the  audacity, 
notwithstanding  the  sentence  of  outlawry  which  had  been  j)assed 
against  him,  to  return  from  Paris,  to  which  he  had,  for  a  time, 
retired,  and  to  appear  publicly  at  Guildhall,  and  offer  himself 
as  a  candidate  for  the  city  of  London.  He  was  contemptuously 
rejected,  but  succeeded  in  being  elected  as  member  for  Middlesex 
county. 

Mr.  Wilkes,  however,  recognizing  the  outlawry  that  had  been 
passed  against  him,  surrendered  himself  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
-Court  of  the  King's  Bench,  which  was  then  presided  over  by  Lord 
Mansfield.  This  great  lawyer  and  jurist  confirmed  the  verdicts 
against  him,  and  sentenced  him  to  pay  a  fine  of  one  thousand 
pounds,  to  suffer  two  years'  imprisonment,  and  to  find  security  for 
good  behavior  for  seven  years.  This  sentence  was  odious  and 
severe,  and  the  more  unjustifiable  in  view  of  the  arbitrary  and 
unprecedented  alteration  of  the  records  on  the  very  night  pre- 
ceding the  trial. 

The  multitude,  enraged,  rescued  their  idol  from  the  oflEicers  of 
the  law,  as  they  were  conducting  him  to  prison,  and  carried  him 
with  triumph  through  the  city ;  but,  through  his  entreaties,  they 
were  prevailed  upon  to  abstain  from  further  acts  of  outrage.  Mr. 
Wilkes  again  surrendered  himself,  and  was  confined  in  prison. 


420  POPULARITY  OF  WILKES.       [CHAF.  XXVIL 

When  the  Commons  met,  Wilkes  was  again  expelled,  in  order  to 
satisfy  the  vengeance  of  the  court.  But  the  electors  of  Middlesex 
again  returned  him  to  parliament,  and  the  Commons  voted  that, 
being  once  expelled,  he  was  incapable  of  sitting,  even  if  elected, 
in  the  same  parliament.  The  electors  of  Middlesex,  equally  de- 
termined with  the  Commons,  chose  him,  for  a  third  time,  their 
representative ;  and  the  election,  for  the  third  time,  was  declared 
void  by  the  commons.  In  order  to  terminate  the  contest,  Colonel 
Lutterell,  a  member  of  the  House,  vacated  his  seat,  and  offered 
himself  a  candidate  for  Middlesex.  He  received  two  hundred  and 
ninety-six  votes,  and  Wilkes  twelve  hundred  and  forty-three,  but 
Lutterell  was  declared  duly  elected  by  the  Commons,  and  took 
his  seat  for  Middlesex. 

This  decision  threw  the  whole  nlition  into  a  ferment,  and  was 
plainly  an  outrage  on  the  freedom  of  elections;  and  it  was  so 
considered  by  some  of  the  most  eminent  men  in  England,  even 
by  those  who  despised  the  character  of  Wilkes.  Lord  Chatham, 
from  his  seat,  declared  "  that  the  laws  were  despised,  trampled 
upon,  destroyed ;  those  laws  which  had  been  made  by  the  stem 
virtues  of  our  ancestors,  those  iron  barons  of  old,  to  whose  spirit 
in  the  hour  of  contest,  and  to  whose  fortitude  in  the  triumph  of 
victory,  the  silken  barons  of  this  day  owe  all  their  honors  and 
security." 

Mr.  Wilkes  subsequently  triumphed  ;  the  Commons  grew  weary 
of  a  contest  which  brought  no  advantage  and  much  ignominy, 
and  the  prosecution  was  dropped ;  but  not  until  the  subject  of  it 
had  been  made  Lord  Mayor  of  London.  From  1768  to  1772,  he 
was  the  sole  unrivalled  political  idol  of  the  people,  who  lavished 
on  him  all  in  their  power  to  bestow.  They  subscribed  twenty 
thousand  pounds  for  the  payment  of  his  debts,  besides  gifts 
of  plate,  wme,  and  household  goods.  Every  wall  bore  his  name, 
and  every  window  his  picture.  In  china,  bronze,  or  marble,  he 
stood  upon  the  chimney-pieces  of  half  the  houses  in  London,  and 
he  swung  from  the  sign-board  of  every  village,  and  every  great 
road  in  the  environs  of  the  metropolis.  In  1770  he  was  dis- 
charged from  his  imprisonment,  in  1771  was  permitted  to  take 
his  seat,  and  elected  mayor.  From  1776,  his  popularity  declined, 
and  he  bi^came  involved  in  pecuniary  difficulties.     He,  however. 


CHAP.  XXVII.]  TAXATION    OF    THE    COLONIES.  431 

emerged  from  them,  and  enjoyed  a  quiet  office  until  his  death, 
(1797.)  He  was  a  patriot  from  accident,  and  not  from  principle, 
and  corrupt  in  his  morals ;  but  he  was  a  gentleman  of  elegant 
manners  and  cultivated  taste.  He  was  the  most  popular  political 
character  ever  known  in  England  ;  and  his  name,  at  one  time, 
was  sufficient  to  blow  up  the  flames  of  sedition,  and  excite  the  lower 
orders  to  acts  of  violence  bordering  on  madness. 

During  his  prosecution,  important  events  occurred,  of  greater 
moment  to  the  world.  The  disputes  about  the  taxation  of  America 
led  to  the  establishment  of  a  new  republic,  whose  extent  and  gran- 
deur have  never  been  equalled,  and  whose  future  greatness  cannot 
well  be  exaggerated. 

These  disputes  commenced  during  the  administration  of  George 
Grenville.  The  proposal  to  tax  the  American  colonies  had  been 
before  proposed  to  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  but  this  prudent  and  saga- 
cious minister  dared  not  run  the  risk.  Mr.  Grenville  was  not, 
however,  daunted  by  the  difficulties  and  dangers  which  the  more 
dole  Walpole  regarded.  In  order  to  lighten  the  burden  which 
resulted  from  the  ruinous  wars  of  Pitt,  the  minister  proposed  to 
raise  a  revenue  from  the  colonies.  The  project  pleased  the  house, 
and  the  Stamp  Duties  were  imposed.  It  is  true  that  the  tax  was  a 
light  one,  and  was  so  regarded  by  Mr.  Grenville  ;  but  he  intended 
it  as  a  precedent ;  he  was  resolved  to  raise  a  revenue  from  the 
colonies  sufficiently  great  to  lighten  the  public  burden.  He 
regarded  the  colonists  as  subjects  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  in 
every  sense  of  the  word;  and,  since  they  received  protection 
from  the  government,  they  were  bound  to  contribute  to  its 
support. 

But  the  colonists,  now  scattered  along  the  coast  from  Maine  to 
Georgia,  took  other  views.  They  maintained  that,  though  subject 
in  some  degree  to  English  legislation,  they  could  not  be  taxed,  any 
more  than  other  subjects  of  Great  Britain,  without  their  consent. 
They  were  willing  to  be  ruled  in  accordance  with  those  royal 
charters  which  had,  at  different  times,  been  given  them.  They 
were  even  willing  to  assist  the  mother  country,  which  they  loved 
and  revered,  and  with  which  were  connected  their  brightest  and 
most  cherished  associations,  in  expelling  its  enemies  from  adjoining 
territories,  and  to  fight  battles  in  its  defence.  They  were  willing 
36 


422  INDIGNATION   OF   THE   COLONIES.         [cHAP.  XXVII. 

to  receive  the  literature,  the  religion,  the  fashions,  and  the  opinions 
of  their  brethren  in  England.  But  they  looked  upon  the  soil 
which  they  cultivated  in  the  wilderness  with  so  many  difficulties, 
hardships,  and  dangers,  as  their  own,  and  believed  that  they  were 
bound  to  raise  taxes  only  to  defend  the  soil,  and  promote  good 
government,  religion,  and  morality  in  their  midst.  But  they  could 
not  understand  why  they  were  bound  to  pay  taxes  to  support  Eng- 
glish  wars  on  the  continent  of  Europe.  It  was  for  their  children, 
and  for  the  sacred  privilege  of  religious  liberty,  that  they  had 
originally  left  the  mother  country.  It  was  only  for  themselves  and 
their  children  that  they  felt  bound  to  labor.  They  sought  no 
political  influence  in  England.  They  did  not  wish  to  control  elec- 
tions, or  regulate  the  finances,  or  interfere  with  the  projects  of 
military  aggrandizement.  They  were  not  represented  in  the 
English  parliament,  and  they  composed,  politically  speaking,  no 
part  of  the  English  nation.  Great,  therefore,  was  their  indigna- 
tion, when  they  learned  that  the  English  government  was  inter- 
fering with  their  chartered  rights,  and  designed  to  raise  a  revenue 
from  them  to  lighten  taxes  at  home,  merely  to  support  the  govern- 
ment in  foolish  wars.  If  they  could  be  taxed,  without  their  con- 
sent, in  any  thing,  they  could  be  taxed  without  limit ;  and  they 
would  be  in  danger  of  becoming  mere  slaves  of  the  mother 
country,  and  be  bound  to  labor  for  English  aggrandizement.  On 
one  point  they  insisted  with  peculiar  earnestness  —  that  tax^on, 
in  a  free  country,  without  a  representation  of  interests  in  parlia- 
ment, was  an  outrage.  It  was  on  account  of  this  arbitrary  taxa- 
tion that  Charles  I.  lost  his  crown,  and  the  second  revolution  was 
effected,  which  placed  the  house  of  Hanover  on  the  throne.  The 
colonies  felt  that,  if  the  subjects  of  the  king  at  home  were  justified 
in  resisting  unlawful  taxes,  they  surely,  on  another  continent,  and 
without  a  representation,  had  a  right  to  do  so  also ;  that,  if  they 
were  to  be  taxed  without  their  consent,  they  would  be  in  a  worse 
condition  than  even  the  people  of  Ireland ;  would  be  in  the  condi- 
tion of  a  conquered  people,  without  the  protection  which  even  a 
conquered  country  enjoyed.  Hence  they  remonstrated,  and  pre- 
pared themselves  for  resistance. 

^    The  English  government  was  so  blinded  as  not  to  perceive  or 
feel  the  force  of  the  reasoning  of  the  colonists,  and  obstinntely 


::HAP.  XXVII.]  THE    STAMP    ACT.  423 

resolved  to  resort  to  measures  which,  with  a  free  and  spirited 
people,  must  necessarily  lead  to  violence  and  strife.  The  House 
of  Commons  would  not  even  hear  the  reports  of  the  colonial 
agents,  but  proceeded,  with  strange  infatuation  and  obstinate  big- 
otry, to  impose  the  Stamp  Act,  (1765.)  There  were  some,  how- 
ever, who  perceived  its  folly  and  injustice.  General  Conway  pro- 
tested against  the  assumed  right  of  the  government,  and  Colonel 
Barre,  a  speaker  of  great  eminence,  exclaimed,  in  reply  to  the 
speech  of  Charles  Townshend,  who  styled  the  colonies  "  children 
planted  by  our  care,  and  nourished  by  our  indulgence," — "  They 
planted  by  your  care  !  —  No !  your  oppressions  planted  them  in 
America ;  they  fled  from  your  tyranny  to  a  then  uncultivated  wil- 
derness, exposed  to  all  the  hardships  to  which  human  nature  is 
liable  !  They  nourished  by  your  indulgence  !  —  No !  they  grew 
by  your  neglect ;  your  care  of  them  was  displayed  in  sending 
persons  to  govern  them  who  were  the  deputies  of  deputies  of 
ministers  —  men  whose  behavior,  on  many  occasions,  has  caused 
the  blood  of  those  sons  of  liberty  to  recoil  within  them ;  men  who 
have  been  promoted  to  the  highest  seats  of  justice  in  a  foreign 
country,  in  order  to  escape  being  brought  to  the  bar  of  a  court  of 
justice  in  their  own."  Mr.  Pitt  opposed  the  fatal  policy  of  Grenville 
with  singular  eloquence ;  by  arguments  which  went  beyond  acts 
of  parliament ;  by  an  appeal  to  the  natural  reason ;  and  by  recog- 
nition of  the  great,  inalienable  principles  of  liberty.  He  maintained 
that  the  House  had  no  right  to  lay  an  internal  tax  upon  America, 
that  country  not  heing  represented.  Burke,  too,  then  a  new 
speaker,  raised  his  voice  against  the  folly  and  injustice  of  taxing 
the  colonies;  but  it  was  in  vain.  The  commons  were  bent  on 
imposing  the  Stamp  Act. 

But  the  passage  of  this  act  created  great  disturbances  in  Amer- 
ica, and  was  every  where  regarded  as  the  beginning  of  great 
calamities.  Throughout  the  colonies  there  was  a  general  combi- 
nation to  resist  the  stamp  duty ;  and  it  was  resolved  to  purchase 
no  English  manufactures,  and  to  prevent  the  adoption  of  stamped 
paper. 

Such  violent  and  unexpected  opposition  embarrassed  the  English 
ministry ;  which,  in  addition  to  the  difficulties  attending  the  prose- 
cution of  Wilkes,  led  to  the  retirement  of  Grenville,  who  was 


424  LORD   CHATHAM.  [cHAP.  XXVII. 

succeeded  by  the  Marquis  of  Rockingham.  During  his  short 
administration,  the  Stamp  Act  was  repealed,  although  the  Commons 
still  insisted  on  their  right  to  tax  America.  The  joy  which  this 
repeal  created  in  the  colonies  was  unbounded  ;  and  the  speech  of 
Pitt,  who  proposed  the  repeal,  and  defended  it  with  unprecedented 
eloquence,  was  every  where  read  with  enthusiasm,  and  served  to 
strengthen  the  conviction,  among  the  leading  men  in  the  colonies, 
that  their  cause  was  right.  Lord  Rockingham  did  not  long  remain 
at  the  head  of  the  government,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Duke 
of  Grafton ;  although  Mr.  Pitt,  recently  created  Earl  of  Chatham, 
was  virtually  the  prime  minister.  Lord  Rockingham  retired  from 
office  with  a  high  character  for  pure  and  disinterested  patriotism, 
and  without  securing  place,  pension,  or  reversion,  to  himself  or  to 
any  of  his  adherents. 

The  elevation  of  Lord  Chatham  to  the  peerage  destroyed  his 
popularity  and  weakened  his  power.  No  man  ever  made  a  greater 
mistake  than  he  did  in  consenting  to  an  apparent  elevation.  He 
had  long  been  known  and  designated  as  the  Great  Commoner. 
The  people  were  proud  of  him,  and,  as  a  commoner,  he  could 
have  ruled  the  nation,  in  spite  of  all  opposition.  No  other  man 
could  have  averted  the  national  calamities.  But,  as  a  peer,  he  no 
longer  belonged  to  the  people,  and  the  people  lost  confidence  in 
him,  and  abandoned  him.  What  he  gained  in  dignity  he  lost  in 
power  and  popularity.  The  people  now  compared  him  with  Lord 
Bath,  and  he  became  the  object  of  universal  calumny. 

And  Chatham  felt  the  change  which  had  taken  place  in  the 
nation.  He  had  ever  loved  and  courted  popularity,  and  that  was 
the  source  of  his  power.  He  now  lost  his  spirits,  and  interested 
himself  but  little  in  public  affairs.  He  relapsed  into  a  state  of 
indolence  and  apathy.  He  remained  only  the  shadow  of  a 
mighty  name ;  and,  sequestered  in  the  groves  of  his  family  resi- 
dence, ceased  to  be  mentioned  by  the  public.  He  became 
melancholy,  nervous,  and  unfit  for  business.  Nor  could  he  be 
induced  to  attend  a  cabinet  council,  even  on  the  most  pressing 
occasions.  He  pretended  to  be  ill,  and  would  not  hold  confer- 
ence with  his  colleagues.  Nor  did  he  have  the  influence  with  the 
king  which  he  had  a  right  to  expect.  Being  no  longer  beloved  by 
the  people,  he  was  no  longer  feared  by  the  king.     He  was  like 


CHAP.  XXVII.]       ADMINISTRATION    OF   LORD   NORTH.  438 

Samson  when  deprived  of  his  locks  —  without  strength ;  for  his 
strength  lay  in  the  confidence  and  affections  of  the  nation.  He 
opposed  his  colleagues  in  their  resolution  to  impose  new  taxes  on 
America,  but  his  counsels  were  disregarded. 

These  taxes  were  in  the  shape  of  duties  on  glass,  paper,  lead, 
and  painters'  colors,  from  which  no  considerable  revenue  could  be 
gained,  and  much  discontent  would  inevitably  result.  When  the 
news  of  this  new  taxation  reached  the  colonies,  it  destroyed  all  the 
cheerfulness  which  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  had  caused.  Sul- 
lenness  and  gloom  returned.  Trust  in  parliament  was  diminished. 
New  combinations  of  opposition  were  organized,  and  the  news- 
papers teemed  with  invective. 

In  the  midst  of  these  disturbances.  Lord  Chatham  resigned  the 
Privy  Seal,  the  office  he  had  selected,  and  retired  from  the  admin- , 
istration,  (1768.) 

In  1770,  the  Duke  of  Grafton  also  resigned  his  office  as  first 
lord  of  the  treasury,  chiefly  in  consequence  of  the  increasing 
difficulties  with  America ;  and  Lord  North,  who  had  been  two 
years  chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  took  his  place.  He  was  an 
amiable  and  accomplished  nobleman,  and  had  many  personal 
friends,  and  few  personal  enemies ;  but  he  was  unfit  to  manage 
the  helm  of  state  in  the  approaching  storm. 

It  was  his  misfortune  to  be  minister  in  the  most  unsettled  and 
revolutionary  times,  and  to  misunderstand  not  merely  the  spirit  of 
the  age,  but  the  character  and  circumstances  of  the  American 
colonies.  George  III.,  with  singular  obstinacy  and  blindness,  sus- 
tained the  minister  against  all  opposition ;  and  under  his  adminis- 
tration the  American  war  was  carried  on,  which  ended  so  disas- 
trously to  the  mother  country. 

As  this  great  and  eventful  war  will  be  the  subject  of  the  next 
chapter,  the  remaining  events  of  interest,  connected  with  the 
domestic  history  of  England,  will  be  first  presented. 

The  most  important  of  these  were  the  discontents  of  the  Irish. 

As  early  as  1762,  associations  of  the  peasantry  were  formed 
with  a  view  to  political  reforms  and  changes,  and  these  popular 
demonstrations  of  the  discontented  have  ever  since  marked  the 
history  of  the  Irish  nation  —  ever  poor,  ever  oppressed,  ever  on  the 
eve  of  rebellion. 

36* 


426  FUNCTIONS    OF   THE   PARLIAMENT.         [cHAP.  XXVII. 

The  first  circumstance,  however,  after  the  accession  of  George 
III.,  which  claims  particular  notice,  was  the  passing  of  the  Octen- 
nial Bill,  in  1788.  The  Irish  parliament,  unlike  the  English,  con- 
tinued in  existence  during  the  life  of  the  sovereign.  In  1761,  an 
attempt  had  been  made  by  the  patriotic  party  to  limit  its  duration, 
and  to  place  it  upon  the  same  footing  as  the  parliament  of  Eng- 
land ;  but  this  did  not  succeed.  Lord  Townshend,  at  this  period, 
was  lord  lieutenant,  and  it  was  the  great  object  of  his  government 
to  break  the  power  of  the  Irish  aristocracy,  and  to  take  out  of  their 
hands  the  distribution  of  pensions  and  places,  which  hitherto  had, 
from  motives  of  policy,  been  allowed  them.  He  succeeded  in  his 
object,  though  by  unjustifiable  means,  and  the  British  government 
became  the  source  of  all  honor  and  emolument.  During  his 
administration,  some  disturbances  broke  out  in  Ulster,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  system  which  then  prevailed  of  letting  land  on  fines. 
As  a  great  majority  of  the  peasantry  and  small  farmers  were 
unable  to  pay  these  fines,  and  were  consequently  deprived  of  their 
farms,  they  became  desperate,  and  committed  violent  outrages  on 
those  who  had  taken  their  lands.  Government  was  obliged  to 
resort  to  military  force,  and  many  distressed  people  were  driven 
to  America  for  subsistence.  To  Ireland  there  appeared  no  chance 
of  breaking  the  thraldom  which  England  in  other  respects  also 
exercised,  when  the  American  war  broke  out.  This  immediately 
changed  the  language  and  current  of  the  British  government  in 
reference  to  Ireland  ;  proposals  were  made  favorable  to  Irish  com- 
merce ;  and  some  penal  statutes  against  Catholics  were  annulled. 
Still  the  patriots  of  Ireland  aimed  at  much  greater  privileges  than 
had  as  yet  been  granted,  and  the  means  to  secure  these  were 
apparent.  England  had  drawn  from  Ireland  nearly  all  the  regular 
forces,  in  order  to  send  them  to  America,  and  the  sea-coast  of 
Ireland  was  exposed  to  invasion.  In  consequence  of  the  defence- 
less state  of  the  country,  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Belfast,  in 
1779,  entered  into  armed  associations  to  defend  themselves  in 
case  of  necessity.  This  gave  rise  to  a  system  of  volunteei's, 
which  soon  was  extended  over  the  island.  The  Irish  now  began 
to  feel  their  strength;  and  even  Lord  North  admitted,  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  the  necessity  of  granting  to  them  still 
greater  privileges,  and  carried  a  bill  through  parliament,  which 


CHAP.  XXVII.]  IRISH   DISCONTENTS.  4S^ 

removed  some  grievous  commercial  restrictions.  But  the  Irish 
looked  to  greater  objects,  and  especially  since  Lord  North,  in  order 
to  carry  his  bill,  represented  it  as  a  boon  resumable  at  pleasure, 
rather  than  as  a  right  to  which  the  Irish  were  properly  entitled. 
This  bill,  therefore,  instead  of  quieting  the  patriots,  led  to  a  desire 
for  an  independent  parliament  of  their  own.  A  union  was  formed 
of  volunteers  to  secure  this  end,  not  composed  of  the  ignorant 
peasantry,  but  of  all  classes,  at  the  head  of  which  was  the  Duke 
of  Leinster  himself.  In  1781,  this  association  of  volunteers  had 
a  force  of  fifty  thousand  disciplined  men  ;  and  it  moreover  formed 
committees  of  correspondence,  which  naturally  alarmed  the  British 
government. 

These  and  other  disturbances,  added  to  the  disasters  in  Amer- 
ica, induced  the  House  of  Commons  to  pass  censure  on  Lord 
North  and  his  colleague,  as  incapable  of  managing  the  helm  of 
state.  The  king,  therefore,  weis  compelled  to  dismiss  his  minis- 
ters, whose  administration  had  proved  the  most  disastrous  in  Brit- 
ish annals.  Lord  North,  however,  had  uncommon  difficulties  to 
contend  with,  and  might  have  governed  the  nation  with  honor  in 
ordinary  times.  He  resigned  in  1782,  four  years  after  the  death 
of  Chatham,  and  the  Marquis  of  Rockingham,  a  second  time,  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  government.  Mr.  Fox  and  Mr.  Burke 
also  obtained  places,  and  the  Whigs  were  once  more  triumphant. 

The  attention  of  the  new  ministry  was  imperatively  demanded 
by  the  discontents  in  Ireland,  and  important  concessions  were 
made.  Mr.  Grattan  moved  an  address  to  the  king,  which  was 
unanimously  carried  in  both  Houses,  in  which  it  was  declared  that 
"  the  crown  of  Ireland  was  inseparably  annexed  to  the  crown  of 
Great  Britain ;  but  that  the  kingdom  of  Ireland  was  a  distinct 
kingdom,  with  a  parliament  of  her  own,  the  sole  legislature  there- 
of; that  in  this  right  they  conceived  the  very  essence  of  their 
liberty  to  exist ;  that  in  behalf  of»  all  the  people  of  Ireland,  they 
claimed  this  as  their  birthright,  and  could  not  relinquish  it  but 
with  their  lives ;  that  they  had  a  high  veneration  for  the  British 
character ;  and  that,  in  sharing  the  freedom  of  England,  it  was 
their  determination  to  share  also  her  fate,  and  to  stand  and  fall  with 
the  British  nation."  The  new  lord  lieutenant,  the  Duke  of  Port- 
land, assured  the  Irish  parliament  that  the  British  legislature  had 


428  f-ROTESTANT   ASSOCIATION.  [cHAP.  XXVII. 

resolved  to  remove  the  cause  of  discontent,  and  a  law  was  actually 
passed  which  placed  the  Irish  parliament  on  the  same  footing  as 
that  of  England.  Acts  were  also  passed  for  the  right  of  habeas 
corpus,  and  for  the  independence  of  the  judges. 

The  volunteers,  having  accomplished  the  objects  which  they 
originally  contemplated,  did  not,  however,  disband,  but  now 
directed  their  efforts  to  a  reform  in  parliament.  But  the  House 
of  Commons  rejected  the  proposition  offered  by  Mr.  Flood,  and 
the  convention,  appointed  by  the  volunteers,  indefinitely  adjourned 
without  persevering,  as  it  should  have  done.  The  volunteer  sys- 
tem soon  after  declined. 

The  cause  of  parliamentary  reform,  though  no  longer  supported 
by  the  volunteers  in  their  associate  character,  was  not  deserted  by 
the  people,  or  by  their  advocates  in  parliament.  Among  these  ad 
vocates  was  William  Pitt  himself.  But  in  1783,  he  became  prime 
minister,  and  changed  his  opinions. 

But  before  the  administration  of  Pitt  can  be  presented,  an  event 
in  the  domestic  history  of  England  must  be  alluded  to,  which  took 
place  during  the  administration  of  Lord  North.  This  was  the 
Protestant  Association,  headed  by  Lord  Greorge  Gordon,  and  the 
riots  to  which  it  led. 

In  1780,  parliament  had  passed  an  act  relieving  Roman  Catho- 
lics from  some  of  the  heavy  penalties  inflicted  on  them  in  the 
preceding  century.  It  relieved  bishops,  priests,  and  schoolmasters 
from  prosecution  and  imprisonment,  gave  security  to  the  rights 
of  inheritance,  and  permission  to  purchase  lands  on  fee  simple. 
This  act  of  toleration  was  generally  opposed  in  England ;  but 
the  fanatical  spirit  of  Presbyterianism  in  Scotland  was  excited  in 
new  of  this  reasonable  indulgence,  to  a  large  body  of  men,  of  the 
rights  of  conscience  and  civil  liberty.  On  the  bare  rumor  of  the 
intended  indulgence,  great  tumults  took  place  in  Edinburgh  and 
Glasgow ;  the  Roman  Catholic  chapel  was  destroyed,  and  the  houses 
of  the  principal  Catholics  were  attacked  and  plundered.  Nor  did 
the  magistracy  check  or  punish  these  disorders  with  any  spirit,  but 
secretly  favored  the  rioters.  Encouraged  by  the  indifference  of 
the  magistrates,  the  fanatics  formed  themselves  into  a  society  called 
the  Protestant  Association,  to  oppose  any  remission  of  the  present 
unjust  laws ;  and   of  this  association  Lord  George  Gordon  was 


CHAP.  XXVII.]  LORD   GEORGE    GORDON'S    RIOTS.  429 

chosen  president.  He  was  the  son  of  the  Duke  of  Gordon,  be- 
longing to  one  of  the  most  ancient  of  the  Scottish  nobility,  but  a 
man  in  the  highest  degree  wild  and  fanatical.  He  was  also  a 
member  of  parliament,  and  opposed  the  views  of  the  most  enlight- 
ened statesmen  of  his  time,  and  with  an  extravagance  which  led 
to  the  belief  that  he  was  insane.  He  calumniated  the  king,  defied 
the  parliament,  and  boasted  of  the  number  of  his  adherents.  He 
pretended  that  he  had,  in  Scotland,  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand 
men  at  his  command,  who  would  cut  off  the  king's  head,  if  he  did 
not  keep  his  coronation  oath.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  Scotch  soon 
spread  to  the  English ;  and,  throughout  the  country,  associations 
were  affiliated  with  the  parent  societies  in  London  and  Edinburgh, 
of  both  of  which  Lord  Gordon  was  president.  At  Coachmakers' 
Hall  he  assembled  his  adherents ;  and,  in  an  incendiary  harangue, 
inflamed  the  minds  of  an  immense  audience  in  regard  to  the 
Church  of  Rome,  with  the  usual  invectives  respecting  its  idolatry 
and  corruption.  He  urged  them  to  violent  courses,  as  the  only 
way  to  stop  the  torrent  of  Catholicism  which  was  desolating  the 
land.  Soon  after,  this  association  assembled  at  St.  George's  Fields, 
to  the  astonishing  number  of  fifty  thousand  people,  marshalled  in 
separate  bands,  with  blue  cockades ;  and  this  immense  rabble  pro- 
ceeded through  the  city  of  London  to  the  House  of  Parliament, 
preceded  by  a  man  carrying  a  petition  signed  by  twelve  hundred 
thousand  names.  The  rabble  took  possession  of  the  lobby  of  the 
house,  making  the  old  palace  ring  with  their  passionate  cries  of 
"  No  popery  !  no  popery !  "  This  mob  was  harangued  by  Lord 
Gordon  himself,  in  the  lobby  of  the  house,  while  the  matter  was 
discussed  among  the  members.  The  military  were  drawn  out,  and 
the  mob  was  dispersed  for  a  time,  but  soon  assembled  again,  and 
became  still  more  alarming.  Houses  were  plundered,  churches 
were  entered,  and  the  city  set  on  fire  in  thirty-six  diflTerent  places. 
The  people  were  obliged  to  chalk  on  their  houses  "  No  popery,"  and 
pay  contributions  to  prevent  their  being  sacked.  The  prisons  were 
emptied  of  both  felons  and  debtors.  Lord  Mansfield's  splendid 
residence  was  destroyed,  together  with  his  pictures,  furniture,  and 
mvaluable  law  library.  Martial  law  was  finally  proclaimed  —  the 
last  resort  in  cases  of  rebellion,  and  never  resorted  to  but  in 
extreme  cases ;  and  the  military  did  what  magistrates  could  not 


430  PARLIAMENTARY  REFORMS.  [cHAP.  XXVll. 

do  —  restored  order  and  law.  Had  not  the  city  been  decreed  to 
be  in  a  state  of  rebellion,  the  rioters  would  have  taken  the  bank, 
which  they  had  already  attacked.  Five  hundred  persons  were 
killed  in  the  riot,  and  Lord  George  Gordon  was  committed  to  the 
Tower.  He,  however,  escaped  conviction,  through  the  extraordi- 
nary talents  of  his  counsel,  Mr.  Erskine  and  Mr.  Kenyon ;  but 
one  hundred  others  were  capitally  convicted.  This  disgraceful 
riot  opened  the  eyes  of  the  people  to  the  horrors  of  popular  insur- 
rection, and  perhaps  prevented  a  revolution  in  England,  when 
other  questions,  of  more  practical  importance,  agitated  the  nation. 

But  no  reform  of  importance  took  place  until  the  administration 
of  William  Pitt.  Mr.  Burke  attempted  to  secure  some  economical 
retrenchments,  which  were  strongly  opposed.  But  what  was  a 
retrenchment  of  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  a  year,  when  com- 
pared with  the  vast  expenditures  of  the  British  armies  in  America 
and  in  India  ?  But  though  the  reforms  which  Burke  projected  were 
not  radical  or  important,  they  contributed  to  raise  his  popularity 
with  the  people,  who  were  more  annoyed  by  the  useless  offices 
connected  with  the  king's  household,  than  by  the  expenditure  of 
millions  in  war.  At  first,  his  scheme  received  considerable  atten- 
tion, and  the  members  listened  to  his  propositions  so  long  as  they 
were  abstract  and  general.  But  when  he  proceeded  to  specific 
reforms,  they  no  longer  regarded  his  voice,  and  he  was  obliged  to 
abandon  his  task  as  hopeless.  William  Pitt  made  his  first  speech 
in  the  debate  which  Burke  had  excited,  and  argued  in  favor  of 
retrenchment  with  the  eloquence  of  his  father,  but  with  more 
method  and  clearness.  The  bill  was  lost,  but  Burke  finally  suc- 
ceeded in  carrying  his  measures  ;  and  the  offices  of  the  master  of 
the  harriers,  the  master  of  the  staghounds,  the  clerk  of  the  green 
cloth,  and  some  other  unimportant  sinecures,  were  abolished. 

The  first  attempt  at  that  great  representative  reform  which 
afterwards  convulsed  the  nation,  was  made  by  William  Pitt.  He 
brought  forward  two  resolutions,  to  prevent  bribery  at  elections, 
and  secure  a  more  equitable  representation.  But  he  did  not  suc- 
ceed ;  and  Pitt  himself,  when  his  cause  was  advocated  by  men  of 
a  different  spirit,  —  men  inflamed  by  revolutionary  principles,  — 
changed  his  course,  and  opposed  parliamentary  reform  with  more 
ardor  than  he  had  at  first  advocated  it.     But  parliamentary  reform 


I' 


w  *«  A  V  T^  K  5: 


CHAP.  XXVII.]  REFORM    QUESTIONS.  431 

did  not  become  an  object  of  absorbing  interest  until  the  times  of 
Henry  Brougham  and  Lord  John  Russell. 

No  other  great  events  were  sufficiently  prominent  to  be  here 
alluded  to,  until  the  ministry  of  William  Pitt  The  American 
Revolution  first  demands  attention. 


References.  —  Belsham's  History  of  the  Reign  of  George  IH,  Wal- 
pole's  Memoir  of  the  same  reign.  Holt's  Private  and  Domestic  Life  of 
George  IH.  Lord.  Brougham's  Statesmen  of  the  Reign  of  George  UL 
Smyth's  Lectures.  Thackeray's  Life  of  the  Earl  of  Chatham.  Corre- 
spondence of  the  Earl  of  Chatham.  Annual  Register,  from  1765  to  1775. 
Debret's  Parliamentary  Debates.  Stephens'  Life  of  Home  Tooke.  Camp- 
bell's Lives  of  the  Lord  Chancellors.  Macaulay's  Essay  on  Chatham. 
Burke's  Thoughts  on  the  Present  Discontent*, 


432  THE  AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  [cHAP.  XXVIII. 

CHAPTER     XXVIII. 

THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION. 

The  American  Revolution,  if  contemplated  in  view  of  its  ulti- 
mate as  well  as  immediate  consequences,  is  doubtless  the  greatest 
event  of  modem  times.  Its  importance  was  not  fully  appreciated 
when  it  took  place,  but  still  excited  a  great  interest  throughout  the 
civilized  world.  It  was  the  main  subject  which  engrossed  the 
attention  and  called  out  the  energies  of  British  statesmen,  during 
the  administration  of  Lord  North.  In  America,  of  course,  all 
other  subjects  were  trivial  in  comparison  with  it.  The  contest  is 
memorable  for  the  struggles  of  heroes,  for  the  development  of 
unknown  energies,  for  the  establishment  of  a  new  western  empire, 
for  the  triumph  of  the  cause  of  liberty,  and  for  the  moral  effects 
which  resulted,  even  in  other  countries,  from  the  examples  of 
patriots  who  preferred  the  glory  and  honor  of  their  country  to 
their  own  aggrandizement. 

The  causes  of  the  struggle  have  been  already  alluded  to  in  the 
selfishness  and  folly  of  British  statesmen,  who  sought  to  relieve  the 
burdens  of  the  English  people  by  taxing  the  colonies.  The  colo- 
nies were  doubtless  regarded  by  the  British  parliament  without 
proper  affection  or  consideration;  somewhat  in  the  light  of  a 
conquered  nation,  from  which  England  might  derive  mercantile 
advantage.  The  colonies  were  not  ruled  in  a  spirit  of  conciliation, 
nor  were  the  American  people  fully  appreciated.  Some,  perhaps, 
like  Chatham  and  Burke,  may  have  known  the  virtues  and  the 
power  of  the  colonial  population,  and  may  have  had  some  glimpse 
of  the  glory  and  greatness  to  which  America  was  destined.  But 
they  composed  but  a  small  minority  of  the  nation,  and  their  advice 
and  remonstrances  were  generally  disregarded. 

Serious  disturbances  did  not  take  place  until  Lord  North  com- 
menced his  unfortunate  administration,  (1770.)  Although  the 
colonies  were  then  resolved  not  to  submit  to  unlawful  taxation, 
and  to  an  oppressive  government,  independence  was  not  contem- 


CHAP.  XXVIII. j  CAUSES    OF    THE   REVOLUTION.  433 

plated.  Conciliatory  measures,  if  they  had  been  at  that  time 
adopted,  probably  would  have  deferred  the  Revolution.  But  the 
contest  must  have  occurred,  at  a  later  date ;  for  nothing,  in  the 
ordinary  course  of  events,  could  have  prevented  the  ultimate  inde- 
pendence of  the  colonies.  Their  rapid  growth,  the  extent  of  the 
country  in  which  settlements  were  made,  its  distance  from  England, 
the  spirit  of  liberty  which  animated  the  people,  their  general  impa- 
tience under  foreign  restraint,  and  the  splendid  prospects  of  future 
greatness  which  were  open  to  their  eyes,  must  have  led  to  a  rup- 
ture with  the  mother  country  at  no  distant  time. 

The  colonies,  at  the  commencement  of  their  difficulties,  may 
have  exaggerated  their  means  of  resistance,  but  not  their  future 
greatness.  All  of  them,  from  New  Hampshire  to  Georgia,  were 
animated  by  a  spirit  of  liberty  which  no  misfortunes  could  crush. 
A  large  majority  of  the  people  were  willing  to  incur  the  dangers 
incident  to  revolution,  not  for  themselves  merely,  but  for  the  sake 
of  their  posterity,  and  for  the  sacred  cause  of  liberty.  They  felt 
that  their  cause  was  just,  and  that  Providence  would  protect  and 
aid  them  in  their  defence. 

A  minute  detail  of  the  events  of  the  American  Revolution,  of 
course,  cannot  be  expected  in  a  history  like  this.  Only  the  more 
prominent  events  can  be  alluded  to.  The  student  is  supposed  to 
be  familiar  with  the  details  of  the  conflict,  which  are  to  be  read  in 
the  works  of  numerous  American  authors. 

Lord  North,  at  the  commencement  of  his  administration,  repealed 
the  obnoxious  duties  which  had  been  imposed  in  1767,  but  still 
retained  the  duty  on  tea,  with  a  view  chiefly  to  assert  the  suprem- 
acy of  Great  Britain,  and  her  right  to  tax  the  colonies.  This 
course  of  the  minister  cannot  be  regarded  in  any  other  light  than 
that  of  the  blindest  infatuation. 

The  imposition  of  the  port  duties,  by  Grenville,  had  fomented 
innumerable  disturbances,  and  had  led  to  universal  discussion  as 
to  the  nature  and  extent  of  parhamentary  power.  A  distinction, 
at  first,  had  been  admitted  between  internal  and  external  taxes ; 
but  it  was  soon  asserted  that  Great  Britain  had  no  right  to  tax  the 
colonies,  either  internally  or  externally.  It  was  stated  that  the 
colonies  had  received  charters,  under  the  great  seal,  which  had 
given  them  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  Englishmen  at  home 
37     2D 


434  RIOTS   AND    DISTITRBANCES.  [cHAP.  XXVIII. 

and  therefore  that  they  could  not  be  taxed,  except  by  their  own 
consent ;  that  this  consent  had  never  been  asked  or  granted  ;  that 
they  were  unrepresented  in  the  imperial  parliament ;  and  that  the 
taxes  which  had  been  imposed  by  their  own  respective  legislatures 
were,  in  many  instances,  greater  than  what  were  paid  by  the 
people  of  England  —  taxes  too,  incurred,  to  a  great  degree,  to  pre- 
serve the  jurisdiction  of  Great  Britain  on  the  American  continent. 
Tlie  colonies  were  every  where  exceedingly  indignant  with  the 
course  the  mother  country  had  pursued  with  reference  to  them. 
Patrick  Henry,  a  Virginian,  supported  the  cause  of  liberty  with  un- 
rivalled eloquence  and  power, as  did  John  Adams,  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr., 
James  Otis,  and  other  patriots  in  Massachusetts.  Riots  took  place 
in  Boston,  Newport,  and  New  York,  and  assemblies  of  citizens 
in  various  parts  expressed  an  indignant  and  revolutionary  spirit. 

The.  residence  of  the  military  at  Boston  was,  moreover,  the 
occasion  of  perpetual  tumult.  The  people  abused  the  soldiers, 
vilified  them  in  newspapers,  and  insulted  them  in  the  streets. 
Mutual  animosity  was  the  result.  Rancor  and  insults  produced  a 
riot,  and  the  troops  fired  upon  the  people.  So  great  was  the  dis- 
turbances, that  the  governor  was  reluctantly  obliged  to  remove  the 
military  from  the  town.  The  General  Court  was  then  removed  to 
Cambridge,  but  refused  to  enter  upon  business  unless  it  were  con- 
vened in  Boston.  Fresh  disturbances  followed.  The  governor 
quarrelled  with  the  legislature,  and  a  complete  anarchy  began  to 
prevail.  The  public  mind  was  inflamed  by  effigies,  paintings, 
and  incendiary  articles  in  the  newspapers.  The  parliament  was 
represented  as  corrupt,  the  ministry  as  venal,  the  king  as  a  tyrant, 
and  England  itself  as  a  rotten,  old,  aristocratic  structure,  crumbling 
to  pieces.  The  tide  was  so  overwhelming  in  favor  of  resistance, 
that  even  moderate  men  were  borne  along  in  the  current ;  and 
those  who  kept  aloof  from  the  excitement  were  stigmatized  as 
timid  and  selfish,  and  the  enemies  of  their  country.  The  courts 
of  justice  were  virtually  silenced,  since  juries  disregarded  the 
cnarges  of  the  judges.  Libels  were  unnoticed,  and  the  rioters 
were  unpunished.  Smuggling  was  carried  on  to  a  great  extent, 
and  revenue  officers  were  insulted  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties. 
Obnoxious  persons  were  tarred  and  feathered,  and  exposed  to 
public  derision  and  scorn.     In  Providence,  they  burnt  the  revenue 


CHAP.  XXVIII.]  DUTY    ON    TEA.  435 

cutter,  and  committees  were  formed  in  the  principal  towns  who 
fanned  the  flame  of  sedition.  The  committee  in  Boston,  in  1773, 
framed  a  celebrated  document,  called  the  Bill  of  Rights,  in  which 
the  authority  of  parliament  to  legislate  for  the  colonies,  in  any  re- 
spect, was  denied,  and  in  which  the  salaries  decreed  by  the  crown 
to  the  governor  and  judges  were  considered  as  a  systematic  attempt 
to  enslave  the  land. 

The  public  discontents  were  further  inflamed  by  the  informa- 
tion which  Dr.  Franklin,  then  in  London,  afforded  the  colonies, 
and  the  advice  he  gave  them  to  persevere,  assuring  them  that,  if 
they  were  firm,  they  had  nothing  to  apprehend.  Moreover,  he 
got  into  his  possession  a  copy  of  the  letters  of  Governor  Hutchin- 
son to  the  ministry,  which  he  transmitted  to  the  colonies,  and 
which  by  them  were  made  public.  These  letters  were  considered 
by  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts  as  unjust  and  libellous,  and  his 
recall  was  demanded.  Resolutions,  of  an  offensive  character  to 
the  English,  were  every  where  passed,  and  all  things  indicated  an 
approaching  storm.  The  crisis  was  at  hand.  The  outrage,  in 
Boston  harbor,  of  throwing  overboard  three  hundred  and  forty-two 
chests  of  tea,  which  the  East  India  Company  had  sent  to  America, 
consummated  the  difficulties,  and  induced  the  government  to 
resort  to  more  coercive  measures. 

It  was  in  the  power  of  Lord  North  to  terminate  the  difficulties 
with  the  colonies  when  the  East  India  Company  urged  him  to 
repeal  the  duty  of  threepence  per  pound  on  tea,  and  offered  to 
pay  sixpence  per  pound  in  lieu  of  it,  as  export  duty,  if  permitted 
to  import  it  into  the  colonies  duty  free.  The  company  was  in- 
duced to  make  this  proposition  in  view  of  the  great  accumulation 
of  tea  in  England ;  but  the  government,  more  solicitous  about  the 
right  than  the  revenue,  would  not  consent.  The  colonists  were 
equally  determined  to  resist  taxation,  not  on  account  of  immediate 
burdens,  but  upon  principle,  and  therefore  resolved  to  prevent  the 
landing  of  the  tea.  A  multitude  rushed  to  the  wharf,  and  twenty 
persons,  disguised  as  Indians,  went  on  board  the  ships  laden  with 
it,  staved  the  chests,  and  threw  their  contents  into  the  sea.  In 
New  York  and  Philadelphia,  as  no  persons  could  be  found  who 
would  venture  to  receive  the  tea  sent  to  those  ports,  the  ships 
laden  with  it  returned  to  England. 


486  PORT    OF    BOSTON    CLOSED.  [cHAP.  XXVIIX. 

The  ministers  of  the  crown  were  especially  indignant  with  the 
province  of  Massachusetts,  which  had  always  been  foremost  in 
resistance,  and  the  scene  of  the  greatest  disorders,  and  therefore 
resolved  to  block  up  the  port  of  Boston.  Accordingly,  in  1774, 
they  introduced  a  bill  to  discontinue  the  lading  and  shipping  of 
goods,  wares,  and  merchandise  at  Boston,  and  to  remove  the  cus- 
tom-house to  Salem.  The  bill  received  the  general  approbation 
of  the  House,  and  passed  by  a  great  majority. 

No  measure  could  possibly  have  been  more  impolitic.  A  large 
force  should  have  been  immediately  sent  to  the  colonies,  to  coerce 
them,  before  they  had  time  to  organize  sufficient  force  to  resist 
the  mother  country,  or  conciliatory  measures  should  have  been 
adopted.  But  the  House  was  angry  and  infatuated,  and  the  voice 
of  wisdom  was  disregarded. 

Soon  after.  Lord  North  introduced  another  bill  for  the  better 
government  of  the  provinces,  which  went  to  subvert  the  charter 
of  the  colony,  and  to  violate  all  the  principles  of  liberty  and 
justice.  By  this  bill,  the  nomination  of  counsellors,  judges,  sheriffs, 
and  magistrates  of  all  kinds,  was  vested  in  the  crown ;  and  these 
were  also  removable  at  pleasure.  The  ministers,  in  advocating  the 
bill,  urged  the  ground  of  necessity,  the  universal  spirit  of  disaf- 
fection, which  bordered  on  actual  rebellion.  The  bill  was  carried, 
by  a  majority  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-nine  against  sixty-four 
voices.  May  2,  1774. 

The  next  step  of  the  minister  was  to  bring  in  a  bill  which  pro- 
vided that,  in  case  any  person  was  indicted  in  Massachusetts  for  a 
capital  offence,  and  that,  if  it  should  appear  that  a  fair  trial  could 
not  be  had  in  the  province,  the  prisoner  might  be  sent  to  any 
other  colony,  or  even  to  Great  Britain  itself,  to  be  tried.  This 
was  insult  added  to  injury,  and  met  with  vigorous  resistance  even  in 
parliament  itself.     But  it  nevertheless  passed  through  both  Houses. 

When  intelligence  arrived  concerning  it,  and  of  the  other  bills, 
a  fire  was  kindled  in  the  colonies  not  easily  to  be  extinguished. 
There  was  scarcely  a  place  which  did  not  convene  its  assembly. 
Popular  orators,  in  the  public  halls  and  in  the  churches,  every 
where  inflamed  the  people  by  incendiary  discourses  ;  organizations 
were  made  to  abstain  from  all  commerce  with  the  mother  country ; 
and  measures  were  adopted  to  assemble  a  General  Congress,  to 


CHAP.  XXVIII.]  MEETING    OF    CONGRESS.  437 

take  into  consideration  the  state  of  the  country.  People  began  to 
talk  of  defending  their  rights  by  the  sword.  Every  where  was 
heard  the  sound  of  the  drum  and  the  fife.  All  were  fired  by  the 
spirit  of  liberty.  Associations  were  formed  for  the  purchase  of 
arms  and  ammunition.  Addresses  were  printed  and  circulated 
calling  on  the  people  to  arm  themselves,  and  resist  unlawful  en- 
croachment. All  proceedings  in  the  courts  of  justice  were  sus- 
pended. Jurors  refused  to  take  their  oaths;  the  reign  of  law 
ceased,  and  that  of  violence  commenced.  Governor  Gage,  who 
had  succeeded  Hutchinson,  fortified  Boston  Neck,  and  cut  off  the 
communication  of  the  town  with  the  country. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  Continental  Congress  met  at  Philadelphia, 
in  which  all  the  colonies  were  represented  but  Georgia.  Congress 
passed  resolutions  approving  the  course  of  Massachusetts,  and  also 
a  bill  called  a  Declaration  of  Rights.  It  sent  an  address  to  the 
king,  framed  with  great  ability,  in  which  it  discussed  the  rights  of 
the  colonies,  complained  of  the  mismanagement  of  ministers,  and 
besought  a  redress  of  the  public  evils. 

But  this  congress  was  considered  by  the  government  of  Great 
Britain  as  an  illegal  body,  and  its  petition  was  disregarded.  But 
the  ministers  no  longer  regarded  the  difficulties  as  trifling,  and 
sought  to  remedy  them,  though  not  in  the  right  way.  The  more 
profound  of  the  English  statesmen  fully  perceived  the  danger 
and  importance  of  the  crisis,  and  many  of  them  took  the  side  of 
liberty.  Dean  Tucker,  who  foresaw  a  long  war,  with  all  its 
expenses,  urged,  in  a  masterly  treatise,  the  necessity  of  giving  the 
Americans,  at  once,  the  liberty  they  sought.  Others,  who  over- 
rated the  importance  of  the  colonies  in  a  mercantile  view,  wished 
to  retain  them,  but  to  adopt  conciliatory  measures.  Lord  Chat- 
ham put  forth  all  the  eloquence  of  which  he  was  such  a  master, 
to  arouse  the  ministers.  He  besought  them  to  withdraw  the  troops 
from  Boston.  He  showed  the  folly  of  metaphysical  refinements 
about  the  right  of  taxation  when  a  continent  was  in  arms.  Ho 
spoke  of  the  means  of  enforcing  thraldom  as  inefficient  and  ridic- 
ulous. Lord  Camden  sustained  Chatham  in  the  House  of  Lords, 
and  declared,  not  as  a  philosopher,  but  as  a  constitutional  lawyer, 
that  England  had  no  right  to  tax  America.  Mr.  Burke  moved  a 
conciliatory  measure  in  the  House  of  Commons,  fraught  with 
37* 


438  SPEECH    OF    BURKE.  [cHAP.  XXVIIJ. 

wisdom  and  knowledge.  "  My  hold  of  the  colonies,"  said  this 
great  oracle  of  moral  wisdom,  "  is  the  close  affection  which  grows 
from  the  common  names,  from  the  kindred  blood,  from  similar 
privileges,  and  from  equal  protection.  These  are  the  ties  which, 
though  light  as  air,  are  as  strong  as  links  of  iron.  Let  the  colo- 
nies always  keep  the  idea  of  their  civil  rights  associated  with  your 
government ;  tliey  will  cling  and  grapple  with  you,  and  no  power 
under  heaven  will  be  able  to  tear  them  from  their  allegiance. 
But  let  it  once  be  understood  that  your  government  may  be  one 
thing,  and  their  privileges  another,  then  the  cement  is  gone,  and 
every  thing  hastens  to  dissolution.  It  is  the  love  of  the  people, 
it  is  their  attachment  to  your  government  from  the  sense  in  the 
deep  stake  they  have  in  such  glorious  institutions,  which  gives 
you  your  army  and  navy,  and  infuses  into  both  that  liberal  obe- 
dience without  which  your  army  would  be  but  a  base  rabble,  and 
your  navy  nothing  but  rotten  timber."  But  this  elevated  and  sub- 
lime wisdom  was  regarded  as  a  philosophical  abstraction,  as  a  vain 
and  impractical  view  of  political  affairs,  well  enough  for  a  writer 
on  the  "  sublime  and  beautiful,"  but  absurd  in  a  British  statesman. 
Colonel  Barre  and  Fox  supported  Burke ;  but  their  eloquence  had 
not  much  effect  on  the  Commons,  and  the  ministry  was  supported 
in  their  measures.  The  colonies  were  declared  to  be  in  a  state 
of  rebellion,  and  measures  were  adopted  to  crush  them. 

To  declare  the  colonies  in  a  state  of  rebellion  was,  in  fact,  to 
declare  war.  And  this  was  perfectly  understood  by  the  popular 
leaders  who  fanned  the  spirit  of  resistance.  All  ideas  of  recon- 
ciliation now  became  chimerical.  Necessity  stimulated  the  timid, 
and  vengeance  excited  the  bold.  It  was  felt  that  the  people  were 
now  to  choose  between  liberty  and  slavery,  and  slavery  was,  of 
course,  regarded  as  worse  than  death.  "  We  must  look  back," 
said  the  popular  orators,  "  no  more !  We  must  conquer  or  die  ! 
We  are  placed  between  altars  smoking  with  the  most  grateful 
incense  of  glory  and  gratitude  on  the  one  part,  and  blocks  and 
dungeons  on  the  other.  Let  each,  then,  rise  and  gird  himself  for 
the  conflict.  The  dearest  interests  of  the  world  command  it ;  our 
most  holy  religion  requires  it.  Let  us  banish  fear,  and  remember 
that  fortune  smiles  only  on  the  brave." 

Such  was  the  general  state  of  feeling ;  and  there  only  needed  a 


CHAP.  XXVIII.]  BATTLE    OF    BUNKER    HILL.  439 

spark  to  kindle  a  conflagration.  Tiiat  spark  was  kindled  at  Lex- 
ington. General  Gage,  the  governor,  having  learned  that  military 
stores  and  arms  were  deposited  at  Concord,  resolved  to  seize  them. 
His  design  was  suspected,  and  the  people  prepared  to  resist  his 
orders.  The  alarm  bells  were  rung,  and  the  cannons  were  fired. 
The  provincial  militia  assembled,  and  the  English  retreated  to 
Lexington.  That  village  witnessed  the  commencement  of  a  long 
and  sanguinary  war.  The  tide  of  revolution  could  no  longer  be 
repressed.  The  colonies  were  now  resolved  to  achieve  their 
independence. 

The  (continental  Congress  met  on  the  10th  of  May,  1775, 
shortly  after  the  first  blood  had  been  shed  at  Lexington,  and 
immediately  proceeded  to  raise  an  army,  establish  a  paper  cur- 
rency, and  to  dissolve  the  compact  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
Massachusetts  colony.  John  Hancock  was  chosen  president  of 
the  assembly,  and  George  Washington  commander-in-chief  of  the 
continental  army.  He  accepted  the  appointment  with  a  modesty 
only  equalled  by  his  merit,  and  soon  after  departed  for  the  seat 
of  war.  For  his  associates,  Congress  appointed  Artemas  Ward, 
Charles  Lee,  Philip  Schuyler,  and  Israel  Putnam  as  major-generals, 
and  Seth  Pomeroy,  Richard  Montgomery,  David  Wooster,  William 
Heath,  Joseph  Spencer,  John  Thomas,  John  Sullivan,  and  Nathanael 
Greene  as  brigadiers.  Horatio  *  Gates  received  the  appointment 
of  adjutant-general,  with  the  rank  of  brigadier. 

On  the  17th  of  June  was  fought  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill, 
which  proved  the  bravery  of  the  Americans,  and  which  was 
followed  by  great  moral  results.  But  the  Americans  unfortunately 
lost,  in  this  battle.  Dr.  Warren,  who  had  espoused  the  cause  of 
revolution  with  the  same  spirit  that  Hampden  did  in  England,  and 
whom  he  resembled  in  genius,  patriotism,  and  character.  He 
had  been  chosen  major-general  four  days  before  his  death,  but 
fought  at  Bunker  Hill  as  a  simple  volunteer.  On  the  2d  of  July, 
Washington  took  command  of  the  army,  and  established  his  head- 
quarters at  Cambridge.  The  American  army  amounted  to  seven- 
teen thousand  men,  of  whom  twenty-five  hundred  were  unfit  for  duty. 
They  were  assembled  on  the  spur  of  the  occasion,  and  had  but 
few  tents  and  stores,  no  clothing,  no  military  chest,  and  no  general 
organization.  They  were  collected  from  the  various  provinces, 
and  were  governed  by  their  own  militia  laws.     Of  this  material 


440  DEATH    OF    MONTGOMEET.  [cHAP.  XXVIII. 

he  cons:ructed  the  first  continental  army,  and  under  innumerable 
vexations  and  difficulties.  No  man  was  ever  placed  in  a  more 
embarrassing  situation.  His  troops  were  raw  and  undisciplined ; 
and  the  members  of  the  Continental  Congress,  from  whom  ho 
received  his  commission,  were  not  united  among  themselves.  He 
had  all  the  responsibility  of  the  war,  and  yet  had  not  sufficient 
means  to  prosecute  it  with  the  vigor-  which  the  colonies  probably 
anticipated.  His  success,  in  the  end,  was  glorious  and  unequiv- 
ocal ;  but  none  other  than  he  could  have  secured  it,  and  not  he, 
even,  unless  he  had  been  sustained  by  a  loftiness  of  character 
almost  preternatural. 

The  English  forces,  at  this  time,  were  centred  in  Boston  under 
the  command  of  General  Gage,  and  were  greatly  inferior  in  point 
of  numbers  to  the  American  troops  who  surrounded  them.  But 
the  troops  of  Gage  were  regulars  and  veterans,  and  were  among 
the  best  in  the  English  army.  He  was  recalled  in  order  to  give 
information  to  the  government  in  reference  to  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill,  and  was  succeeded  in  October  by  General  Howe. 

The  first  campaign  of  the  war  was  signalized  by  the  invasion 
of  Canada  by  the  American  troops,  with  the  hope  of  wresting 
that  province  from  the  English,  which  was  not  only  disaffected, 
but  which  was  defended  by  an  inconsiderable  force.  General 
Montgomery,  with  an  army  of  thrfee  thousand,  advanced  to  Mont- 
real, which  surrendered.  The  fortresses  of  Crown  Point  and 
Ticonderoga  had  already  been  taken  by  Colonel  Ethan  Allen. 
But  the  person  who  most  distinguished  himself  in  this  unfortunate 
expedition  was  Colonel  Benedict  Arnold,  who,  with  a  detachment 
of  one  thousand  men,  penetrated  through  the  forests,  swamps,  and 
mountains  of  Maine,  beyond  the  sources  of  the  Kennebec,  and,  m 
six  weeks  from  his  departure  at  Boston,  arrived  on  the  plains  of 
Canada,  opposite  Quebec.  He  there  effected  a  junction  with  the 
troops  of  Montgomery,  and  made  an  assault  on  the  strongest 
fortress  in  America,  defended  by  sixteen  hundred  men.  The 
attack  was  unsuccessful,  and  Montgomery  was  killed.  Arnold 
did  not  retire  from  the  province,  but  remained  encamped  upon  the 
Heights  of  Abraham.  This  enterprise,  though  a  failure,  was  not 
without  great  moral  results,  since  it  showed  to  the  English  gov- 
ernment the  singular  bravery  and  intrepidity  of  the  nation  it  nad 
undertaken  to  coerce. 


CHAP.  XXVIII.]    DECLARATION    OF    AMERICAN    INDEPENDENCE.         441 

The  ministry  then  resolved  upon  vigorous  measures,  and,  find- 
ing a  difficuhy  in  raising  men,  appUed  to  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse 
for  seventeen  thousand  mercenaries.  These,  added  to  twenty-five 
thousand  men  enlisted  in  England,  and  the  troops  already  sent  to 
America,  constituted  a  force  of  fifty-five  thousand  men  —  deemed 
amply  sufficient  to  reduce  the  rebellious  colonies.  But  these  were 
not  sent  to  America  until  the  next  year. 

In  the  mean  time,  General  Howe  was  encamped  in  Boston  with 
a  force,  including  seamen,  of  eleven  thousand  men,  and  General 
Washington,  with  an  army  of  twenty-eight  thousand,  including 
militia,  was  determined  to  attack  him.  In  February,  1776,  he 
took  possession  of  Dorchester  Heights,  which  command  the  har- 
bor. General  Howe  found  it  expedient  to  evacuate  Boston,  and 
sailed  for  Halifax  with  his  army,  and  Washington  repaired  to 
Philadelphia  to  deliberate  with  Congress. 

But  Howe  retired  from  Boston  only  to  occupy  New  York;  and 
when  his  arrangements  were  completed,  he  landed  at  Staten 
Island,  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  his  brother.  Lord  Howe,  with  the 
expected  reenforcements.  By  the  middle  of  August  they  had  all 
arrived,  and  his  united  forces  amounted  to  twenty-four  thousand 
men.  Washington's  army,  though  it  nominally  numbered  twenty 
thousand  five  hundred,  still  was  composed  of  only  about  eleven 
thousand  effective  men,  and  these  imperfectly  provided  with  arms 
and  ammunition.  Nevertheless,  Washington  gave  battle  to  the 
English ;  but  the  result  was  disastrous  to  the  Americans,  owing 
to  the  disproportion  of  the  forces  engaged.  General  Howe  took 
possession  of  Long  Island,  the  Americans  evacuated  NewYork,  and, 
shortly  after,  the  city  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English.  Washing- 
ton, with  his  diminished  army,  posted  himself  at  Haerlem  Heights. 

But  before  the  victory  of  Howe  on  Long  Island  was  obtained. 
Congress  had  declared  the  Independence  of  the  American  States, 
(4th  July,  1776.)  This  Declaration  of  Independence  took  the 
English  nation  by  surprise,  and  firmly  united  it  against  the  colo- 
nies. It  was  received  by  the  Americans,  in  every  section  of  the 
country,  with  unbounded  enthusiasm.  ReconciUation  was  now 
impossible,  and  both  countries  were  arrayed  against  each  other 
ir  fierce  antagonism. 

The  remainder  of  the   campaign   of   1776  was  occupied  by 


442  COMMISSIONERS    SENT    TO    FRANCE.      [cHAP.  XXVIll. 

the  belligerents  in  skirmishing,  engagements,  marchings  and 
countermarchings,  in  the  states  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey. 
The  latter  state  was  overrun  by  the  English  army,  and  success, 
on  either  side,  was  indecisive.  Forts  Washington  and  Lee  were 
captured.  GJeneral  Lee  was  taken  prisoner.  The  capture  of 
Lee,  however,  was  not  so  great  a  calamity  as  it,  at  first,  seemed  ; 
for,  though  a  man  of  genius  and  military  experience,  his  am- 
bition, vanity,  and  love  of  glory  would  probably  have  led  to  an 
opposition  to  his  superior  officer,  and  to  Congress  itself.  To 
compensate  for  the  disasters  in  New  Jersey,  Washington,  invested 
with  new  and  extraordinary  power  by  Congress,  gained  the  battles 
of  Princeton  and  Trenton,  which  were  not  only  brilliant  victories, 
but  were  attended  by  great  moral  effects,  and  showed  the  diffi- 
culty of  subduing  a  people  determined  to  be  free.  "  Every  one 
applauded  the  firmness,  the  prudence,  and  the  bravery  of  Wash- 
ington. All  declared  him  to  be  the  savior  of  his  country ;  all  pro- 
claimed him  equal  to  the  most  renowned  commanders  of  antiquity, 
and  especially  distinguished  him  by  the  name  of  the  American 
Fabiusy 

The  greatness  of  Washington  was  seen,  not  so  much  by  his 
victories  at  Princeton  and  Trenton,  or  by  his  masterly  retreat 
before  superior  forces,  as  by  his  admirable  prudence  and  patience 
during  the  succeeding  winter.  He  had,  for  several  months,  a  force 
.which  scarcely  exceeded  fifteen  hundred  men,  and  these  suffered 
all  manner  of  hardships  and  privations.  After  the  first  gush  of 
enthusiasm  had  passed,  it  was  found  exceedingly  difficult  to  enlist 
men,  and  still  more  difficult  to  pay  those  who  had  enlisted.  Con- 
gress, composed  of  great  men,  and  of  undoubted  patriotism,  on 
the  whole-,  harmonized  with  the  commander-in-chief,  whom,  for 
six  months,  it  invested  with  almost  dictatorial  power ;  still  there 
were  some  of  its  members  who  did  not  fully  appreciate  the  char- 
acter or  condition  of  Washington,  and  threw  great  difficulties  in 
his  way. 

Congress  about  this  time  sent  commissioners  to  France  to  solicit 
money  and  arms.  These  commissioners  were  Dr.  Franklin,  Silas 
Deane,  and  Arthur  Lee.  They  were  not  immediately  successful ; 
for  the  French  king,  doubtful  of  the  result  of  the  struggle,  did  not 
wish  to  incur  prematurely  the  hostility  of  Great  Britain ;  but  they 


CHAP.  XXVIII.]  CAPTURE    OF    BURGOYNE.  443 

induced  many  to  join  the  American  cause,  and,  among  others, 
the  young  Marquis  de  La  Fayette,  who  arrived  in  America  in  the 
spring  of  1777,  and  proved  a  most  efficient  general,  and  secure(f 
the  confidence  and  love  of  the  nation  he  assisted. 

The  campaign  of  1777  was  marked  by  the  evacuation  of  the 
Jerseys  by  the  English,  by  the  battles  of  Bennington  and  Brandy 
wine,  by  the  capture  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  surrender  of 
Burgoyne.  Success,  on  the  whole,  was  in  favor  of  the  Americans. 
They  suffered  a  check  at  Brandywine,  and  lost  the  most  consid- 
erable city  in  the  Union  at  that  time.  But  these  disasters  were 
more  than  compensated  by  the  victory  at  Bennington  and  the 
capture  of  Burgoyne. 

This  indeed  was  the  great  event  of  the  campaign.  Burgoyne 
was  a  member  of  parliament,  and  superseded  General  Carleton 
in  the  command  of  the  northern  army  —  an  injudicious  appoint- 
ment, but  made  by  the  minister  in  order  to  carry  his  measures 
more  easily  through  the  House  of  Commons.  The  troops  under 
his  command  amounted  to  over  seven  thousand  veterans,  besides  a 
corps  of  artillery.  He  set  out  from  St.  John's,  the  16th  of  June, 
and  advanced  to  Ticonderoga,  which  he  invested.  The  American 
forces,  under  General  Schuyler,  destined  to  oppose  this  royal  army, 
and  to  defend  Ticonderoga,  were  altogether  insufficient,  being  not 
over  five  thousand  men.  The  fortress  was  therefore  abandoned, 
and  the  British  general  advanced  to  the  Hudson,  hoping  to  open  a 
communication  between  it  and  Lake  Champlain,  and  thus  com- 
pletely surround  New  England,  and  isolate  it  from  the  rest  of  the 
country.  But  the  delays  attending  the  march  of  the  English  army 
through  the  forests  enabled  the  Americans  to  rally.  The  defeat 
of  Colonel  Baum  at  Bennington,  by  Colonel  Stark,  added  to  the 
embarrassments  of  Burgoyne,  who  now  was  straitened  for  pro- 
visions ;  nevertheless,  he  continued  his  march,  hoping  to  reach 
Albany  unmolested.  But  the  Americans,  commanded  by  General 
Gates,  who  had  superseded  Schuyler,  were  strongly  intrenched  at 
the  principal  passes  on  his  route,  and  had  fortified  the  high  grounds. 
The  army  of  Burgoyne  was  moreover  attacked  by  the  Americans 
at  Stillwater,  and  he  was  forced  to  retreat  to  Saratoga.  His 
army  was  now  reduced  to  five  thousand  men ;  he  had  only  three 
days'  provisions ;  all  the  passes  were  filled  by  the  enemy,  and  he 


444  MORAL  EFFECTS  OF  BURGOYNE's  CAPTURE.     [cHAP.  XXVIII. 

was  completely  surrounded  by  fifteen  thousand  men.  Under  these 
circumstances,  he  was  forced  to  surrender.  His  troops  laid  down 
their  arms,  but  were  allowed  to  embark  at  Boston  for  Europe. 
The  Americans,  by  this  victory,  acquired  forty-two  pieces  of  brass 
artillery,  four  thousand  six  hundred  muskets,  and  an  immense 
quantity  of  military  stores.  This  surrender  of  Burgoyne  was  the 
greatest  disaster  which  the  British  troops  had  thus  far  experienced, 
and  raised  the  spirits  of  the  Americans  to  the  highest  pitch. 
Indeed,  this  surrender  decided  the  fate  of  the  war,  for  it  proved 
the  impossibility  of  conquering  the  Americans.  It  showed  that 
they  fought  under  infinitely  greater  advantages,  since  it  was  in 
their  power  always  to  decline  a  battle,  and  to  choose  their  ground. 
It  showed  that  the  country  presented  difficulties  which  were  insur- 
mountable. It  mattered  but  little  that  cities  were  taken,  when*  the 
great  body  of  the  people  resided  in  the  country,  and  were  willing 
to  make  sacrifices,  and  were  commanded  by  such  generals  as 
Washington,  Gates,  Greene,  Putnam,  and  Lee.  The  English  min- 
istry ought  to  have  seen  the  nature  of  the  contest;  but  a  strange 
infatuation  blinded  the  nation.  There  were  some,  however,  whom 
no  national  pride  could  blind.  Lord  Chatham  was  one  of  these 
men.  "  No  man,"  said  this  veteran  statesman,  "  thinks  more 
highly  of  the  virtues  and  valor  of  British  troops  than  I  do.  I  know 
that  they  can  achieve  any  thing  except  impossibilities.  But  the 
conquest  of  America  is  an  impossibility." 

There  was  one  nation  in  Europe  who  viewed  the  contest  with 
different  eyes.  This  nation  was  France,  then  on  the  eve  of  revo- 
lution itself,  and  burning  with  enthusiastic  love  of  the  principles 
on  which  American  independence  was  declared.  The  French 
government  may  not  have  admired  the  American  cause,  but  it 
hated  England  so  intensely,  that  it  was  resolved  to  acknowledge 
the  independence  of  America,  and  aid  the  country  with  its  forces. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  war,  the  American  Congress  had  sent 
commissioners  to  France,  in  order  to  obtain  £issistance.  In  conse- 
quence of  their  representations,  La  Fayette,  then  a  young  man  of 
nineteen  years  of  age,  freighted  a  ship  at  his  own  expense,  and 
joined  the  American  standard.  Congress,  in  consideration  of  his 
illustrious  rank  and  singular  enthusiasm,  gave  him  a  commissioi? 
of  major-general.     And  gloriously  did  he  fulfil  the  great  expecta 


CHAP.  XXVIII.]      ARRIVAL  OF  LA  FAYETTE.  445 

tions  which  were  formed  of  him ;  richly  did  he  deserve  the  grati- 
tude and  praise  of  all  the  friends  of  liberty. 

La  Fayette  embarked  in  the  American  cause  as  a  volunteer. 
The  court  of  France,  in  the  early  period  of  the  contest,  did  not 
think  it  expedient  openly  to  countenance  the  revolution.  But, 
after  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne,  and  it  was  evident  that  the  United 
States  would  succeed  in  securing  their  independence,  then  it  was 
acknowledged,  and  substantial  aid  was  rendered. 

The  winter  which  succeeded  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne  is  mem- 
orable for  the  sufferings  of  the  American  army  encamped  at  Val- 
ley Forge,  about  twenty  miles  from  Philadelphia.  The  army  was 
miserably  supplied  with  provisions  and  clothing,  and  strong  discon- 
tent appeared  in  various  quarters.  Out  of  eleven  thousand  eight 
hundred  men,  nearly  three  thousand  were  barefooted  and  otherwise 
naked.  But  the  sufferings  of  the  army  were  not  the  only  causes 
of  solicitude  to  the  commander-in-chief,  on  whom  chiefly  rested 
the  responsibility  of  the  war.  The  officers  were  discontented, 
and  were  not  prepared,  any  more  than  the  privates,  to  make 
permanent  sacrifices.  They  were  obliged  to  break  in  upon 
their  private  property,  and  were  without  any  prospect  of  future 
rehef.  Washington  was  willing  to  make  any  sacrifices  himself, 
and  refused  any  payment  for  his  own  expenses  ;  but,  while  he 
exhibited  the  rarest  magnanimity,  he  did  not  expect  it  from  others, 
and  urged  Congress  to  provide  for  the  future  pay  of  the  officers, 
when  the  war  should  close.  He  looked  upon  human  nature  as  it 
was,  not  as  he  wished  it  to  be,  and  recognized  the  principles  of 
self-interest  as  well  as  those  of  patriotism.  It  was  his  firm  con- 
viction that  a  long  and  lasting  war  could  not,  even  in  those  times, 
be  sustained  by  the  principle  of  patriotism  alone,  but  required, 
in  addition,  the  prospect  of  interest,  or  some  reward.  The  members 
of  Congress  did  not  all  agree  with  him  in  his  views,  and  expected 
that  officers  would  make  greater  sacrifices  than  private  citizens  ; 
but,  after  a  while,  the  plan  of  half-pay  for  life,  as  Washington 
proposed,  was  adopted  by  a  small  majority,  though  afterwards 
changed  to  half-pay  for  seven  years.  There  was  also  a  prejudice 
in  many  minds  against  a  standing  army,  besides  the  jealousies  and 
antipathies  which  existed  between  different  sections  of  the  Union. 
But  Washington,  with  his  lare  practical  good  sense,  combated 
38 


146  EVACUATION    OF    PHILADELPHIA.        [cHAP.  XXVIil. 

these,  as  well  as  the  fears  of  the  timid  and  the  schemes  of  the 
selfish.  The  history  of  the  Revolution  impresses  us  with  the 
greatness  and  bravery  of  the  American  nation ;  and  every  Amer- 
ican should  feel  proud  of  his  ancestors  for  the  efforts  they  made, 
under  so  many  discouragements,  to  secure  their  liberties ;  but  it 
would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  nothing  but  exalted  heroism  was 
exhibited.  Human  nature  showed  its  degeneracy  in  the  camp  and 
on  the  field  of  battle,  among  heroes  and  among  patriots.  The 
perfection  of  character,  so  far  as  man  is  ever  perfect,  was  exhib- 
ited indeed,  by  Washington,  but  by  Washington  alone. 

The  army  remained  at  Valley  Forge  till  June,  1778.  In  the 
mean  time,  Lord  North  made  another  ineffectual  effort  to  procure 
reconciliation.  But  he  was  too  late.  His  offers  might  have  been 
accepted  at  the  commencement  of  the  contest ;  but  nothing  short 
of  complete  independence  would  now  satisfy  the  Americans,  and 
this  North  was  not  willing  to  concede.  Accordingly,  new  meas- 
ures of  coercion  were  resorted  to  by  the  minister,  although  the 
British  forces  in  America  were  upwards  of  thirty-three  thousand. 

On  the  18th  of  June,  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who  had  succeeded 
Sir  William  Howe  in  command  of  the  British  forces,  evacuated 
Philadelphia,  the  possession  of  which  had  proved  of  no  service  to 
the  English,  except  as  winter  quarters  for  the  troops.  It  was  his 
object  to  proceed  to  New  York,  for  which  place  he  marched  with 
his  army,  having  sent  his  heavy  baggage  by  water.  The  Ameri- 
cans, with  superior  forces,  hung  upon  his  rear,  and  sought  an 
engagement.  An  indecisive  one  occurred  at  Monmouth,  during 
which  General  Lee  disregarded  the  orders  of  his  superior  in  com- 
mand, and  was  suspended  for  twelve  months.  There  never  was 
perfect  harmony  between  Washington  and  Lee  ;  and  the  aid  of  the 
latter,  though  a  brave  and  experienced  officer,  was  easily  dis- 
pensed with. 

No  action  of  importance  occurred  during  this  campaign,  and  it 
was  chiefly  signalized  by  the  arrival  of  the  Count  d'Estaing,  with 
twelve  ships  of  the  line  and  four  frigates,  to  assist  the  Americans. 
But,  in  consequence  of  disagreements  and  mistakes,  this  large 
armament  failed  to  engage  the  English  naval  forces. 

The  campaign  of  1779  was  not  more  decisive  than  that  of  the 
preceding  year.     Military  operations  were  chiefly  confined  to  the 


CHAP.  XXVIII.]      THE  TREASON  OF  ARNOLD.  447 

southern  sections  of  the  country,  in  which  the  English  generally 
gained  the  advantage,  having  superior  forces.  They  overran  the 
country,  inflamed  the  hostility  of  the  Indians,  and  destroyed  con- 
siderable property.  But  they  gained  no  important  victory,  and  it 
was  obvious  to  all  parties  that  conquest  was  impossible. 

The  campaign  of  1780  is  memorable  for  the  desertion  of  Gen- 
eral Arnold,  Though  not  attended  by  important  political  results, 
it  produced  an  intense  excitement.  He  was  intrusted  with  the 
care  of  the  fortress  of  West  Point,  which  commanded  the  Hudson 
River ;  but,  dissatisfied,  extravagant,  and  unprincipled,  he  thought 
to  mend  his  broken  fortunes  by  surrendering  it  to  the  British,  who 
occupied  New  York.  His  treason  was  discovered  when  his  schemes 
were  on  the  point  of  being  accomplished ;  but  he  contrived  to 
escape,  and  was  made  a  brigadier-general  in  the  service  of  the 
enemy.  Public  execration  loaded  his  name  with  ignominy,  and 
posterity  has  not  reversed  the  verdict  of  his  indignant  countrymen. 
His  disgrace  and  ruin  were  primarily  caused  by  his  extravagance 
and  his  mortified  pride.  Washington  fully  understood  his  want  of 
moral  principle,  but  continued  to  intrust  him  with  power,  in  view 
of  the  great  sei'vices  he  had  rendered  his  country,  and  his  unques- 
tioned bravery  and  military  talents.  After  his  defection,  the 
American  commander-in-chief  was  never  known  to  intrust  an 
important  office  to  a  man  in  whose  virtue  he  had  not  implicit  faith. 
The  fate  of  Major  Andre,  who  negotiated  the  treason  with  Arnold, 
and  who  was  taken  as  a  spy,  was  much  lamented  by  the  English. 
Neither  his  family,  nor  rank,  nor  accomplishments,  nor  virtues, 
nor  the  intercession  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  could  save  him  from 
military  execution,  according  to  the  established  laws  of  war. 
Washington  has  been  blamed  for  not  exercising  more  forbearance 
in  the  case  of  so  illustrious  a  prisoner ;  but  the  American  general 
never  departed  from  the  rigid  justice  which  he  deemed  it  his  duty 
to  pursue. 

During  this  year,  the  American  currency  had  singularly  depre- 
ciated, so  that  forty  dollars  were  worth  only  one  in  specie  —  a  fact 
which  shows  the  embarrassments  of  the  country,  and  the  difficulty 
of  supporting  the  army.  But  the  prospects  of  ultimate  success 
enabled  Congress,  at  length,  to  negotiate  loans,  and  the  army  was 
kept  together. 


448  SURRENDER    OF    LORD   CORNWALLIS.     [cHAP.  XXVlll. 

The  great  event  in  the  campaign  of  1781  Was  the  surrender  ot 
Lord  Comwallis,  at  Yorktown,  which  decided  the  fate  of  the  war. 
Lord  Comwallis,  who  was  an  able  commander,  had  been  success- 
ful at  the  south,  although  vigorously  and  skilfully  opposed  by 
General  La  Fayette.  But  he  had  at  last  to  contend  with  the 
main  body  of  the  American  army,  and  French  forces  in  addition, 
so  that  the  combined  armies  amounted  to  over  twelve  thousand 
men.  He  was  compelled  to  surrender  to  superior  forces ;  and 
seven  thousand  prisoners,  with  all  their  baggage  and  stores,  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  victors,  19th  of  October,  1781.  This  great 
event  diffused  universal  joy  throughout  America,  and  a  correspond- 
ing depression  among  the  English  people.  , 

After  this  capitulation,  the  conviction  was  general  that  the  war 
would  soon  be  terminated.  General  La  Fayette  obtained  leave  to 
return  to  France,  and  the  recruiting  service  languished.  The  war, 
nevertheless,  was  continued  until  1783  ;  without,  however,  being 
signalized  by  any  great  events.  On  the  30th  of  November,  1782, 
preliminary  articles  of  peace  were  signed  at  Paris,  by  which  Great 
Britain  acknowledged  the  independence  of  the  United  States,  and 
by  which  the  whole  country  south  of  the  lakes  and  east  of  the 
Mississippi  was  ceded  to  them,  and  the  right  of  fishing  on  the 
Banks  of  Newfoundland. 

On  the  25th  of  November,  1783,  the  British  troops  evacuated 
New  York ;  and,  shortly  after,  the  American  army  was  disbanded. 
The  4th  of  December,  Washington  made  his  farewell  address  to 
his  officers ;  and,  on  the  23d  of  December,  he  resigned  his  com- 
mission into  the  hands  of  the  body  from  which  he  received  it,  and 
retired  to  private  life  ;  having  discharged  the  great  trust  reposed 
in  him  in  a  manner  which  secured  the  gratitude  of  his  country, 
and  which  will  probably  win  the  plaudits  of  all  future  generations. 

The  results  of  the  Revolutionary  War  can  only  be  described  by 
enumerating  the  progressive  steps  of  American  aggrandizement 
from  that  time  to  this,,  and  by  speculating  on  the  future  destinies 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  on  the  American  continent.  The  suc- 
cess which  attended  this  long  war  is  in  part  to  be  traced  to  the 
talents  and  matchless  wisdom  and  integrity  of  the  commander-in- 
chief  ;  to  the  intrepid  courage  and  virtues  of  the  armies  he  direct- 
ed ;  to  the  self-confidence  and  inexperience  of  the  English  generals ; 


CHAP.  XXVIII.]  RESIGNATION    OF   LORD   NORTH.  449 

10  the  difficulties  necessarily  attending  the  conquest  of  forests, 
and  swamps,  and  scattered  towns ;  to  the  assistance  of  the  French 
nation  ;  and,  above  all,  to  the  superintending  providence  of  God, 
who  designed  to  rescue  the  sons  of  the  Pilgrims  from  foreign 
oppression,  and,  in  spite  of  their  many  faults,  to  make  them  a 
great  and  glorious  nation,  in  which  religious  and  civil  liberty  should 
be  perpetuated,  and  all  men  left  free  to  pursue  their  own  means  of 
happiness,  and  develop  the  inexhaustible  resources  of  a  great  and 
boundless  empire. 

The  English  nation  acquiesced  in  an  event  which  all  felt  to  be 
inevitable  ;  but  Lord  North  was  compelled  to  resign,  and  a  change 
of  measures  was  pursued.  It  is  now  time  to  contemplate  English 
affairs,  until  the  French  Revolution. 


References.  —  The  books  written  on  the  American  Revolution  are  very 
numerous,  an  index  to  which  may  be  seen  in  Botta's  History,  as  well  as  in 
the  writings  of  those  who  have  treated  of  this  great  event.  Sparks's  Life 
and  Correspondence  of  Washington  is  doubtless  the  most  valuable  work 
which  has  yet  appeared  since  Marshall  wrote  the  Life  of  "Washington. 
Guizot's  Essay  on  Washington  is  exceedingly  able ;  nor  do  I  know  any 
author  who  has  so  profoundly  analyzed  the  character  and  greatness 
of  the  American  hero.  Botta's  History  of  the  Revolution  is  a  pop- 
ular but  superficial  and  overlauded  book.  Mr.  Hale's  History  of  the 
United  States  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  designed, 
and  is  the  best  compendium  of  American  history.  Stedman  is  the  standard 
authority  in  England.  Belsham,  in  his  History  of  George  HI.,  has  writ- 
ten candidly  and  with  spirit.  Smyth,  in  his  lectures  on  Modem  History, 
has  discussed  the  Revolution  with  great  ability.  See  also  the  works  of 
Ramsay,  Winterbotham,  Allen,  and  Gordon.  The  lives  of  the  prominent 
American  generals,  statesmen,  and  orators,  should  also  be  read  in  connec- 
tion ;  especially  of  Lee,  Greene,  Franklin,  Adams,  and  Henry,  which  are 
best  described  in  Sparks's  American  Biography. 
38*  2E 


450  WILLIAM   PITT.  [chap.  XXIX. 

CHAPTER    XXIX. 

ADMINISTRATION  OF  WILLIAM  PITT. 

We  come  now  to  consider  the  most  eventful  administration,  in 
many  important  respects,  in  British  annals.  The  greatness  of 
military  operations,  the  magnitude  of  reforms,  and  the  great  num- 
ber of  illustrious  statesmen  and  men  of  genius,  make  the  period, 
when  Pitt  managed  the  helm  of  state,  full  of  interest  and  grandeur. 

William  Pitt,  second  son  of  the  first  Earl  of  Chatham,  entered 
public  life  at  a  very  early  age,  and  was  prime  minister  of  George 
III.  at  a  period  of  life  when  most  men  are  just  completing  a  pro- 
fessional education.  He  was  a  person  of  extraordinary  precocity. 
He  entered  Cambridge  University  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  at 
that  period  was  a  finished  Greek  and  Latin  scholar.  He  spent  no 
idle  hours,  and  evinced  but  little  pleasure  in  the  sports  common 
to  boys  of  his  age.  He  was  as  successful  in  mastering  mathe- 
matics as  the  languages,  and  was  an  admirer  of  the  profoundest 
treatises  of  intellectual  philosophy.  He  excelled  in  every  branch 
of  knowledge  to  which  he  directed  his  attention.  In  1780,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  became  a  resident  in  Lincoln's  Inn, 
entered  parliament  the  succeeding  spring,  and  immediately  as- 
sumed an  active  part.  His  first  speech  astonished  all  who  heard 
him,  •  notwithstanding  that  great  expectations  were  formed  con- 
cerning his  power.  He  was  made  chancellor  of  the  exchequer  at 
the  age  of  twenty-three,  and  at  a  time  when  it  required  a  finance 
minister  of  the  greatest  experience.  Nor  would  the  Commons 
liave  acquiesced  in  his  appointment  to  so  important  a  post,  in  so 
critical  a  state  of  the  nation,  had  not  great  confidence  existed  as  to 
his  abilities.  From  his  first  appearance,  Pitt  took  a  commanding 
position  as  a  parliamentary  orator ;  nor,  as  such,  has  he  ever,  on 
the  whole,  been  surpassed.  His  peculiar  talents  fitted  him  for  the 
highest  post  in  the  gift  of  his  sovereign,  and  the  circumstances  of 
the  times,  in  addition,  were  such  as  were  calculated  to  develop  all 
the  energies  and  talents  he   possessed.     He  was  not  the  most 


CHAP.  XXIX.]  EARLY    LIFE    OF    PITT.  451 

commanding  intellect  of  his  age,  but  he  was,  unquestionably,  the 
greatest  oratoi  that  England  has  produced,  and  exercised,  to  the 
close  of  his  career,  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  such  men  as 
Burke,  Fox,  and  Sheridan,  an  overwhelming  parliamentary  influ- 
ence. He  was  a  prodigy ;  as  great  in  debate,  and  in  executive 
power,  as  Napoleon  was  in  the  field.  Bacon  in  philosophy,  or 
Shakspeare  in  poetry.  It  is  difficult  for  us  to  conceive  how  a 
young  man,  just  emerging  from  college  halls,  should  be  able  to 
answer  the  difficult  questions  of  veteran  statesmen  who  had  been 
all  their  Hves  opposing  the  principles  he  advanced,  and  to  assume 
at  once  the  powers  with  which  his  father  was  intrusted  only  at  a 
mature  period  of  life.  Pitt  was  almost  beyond  envy,  and  the 
proud  nobles  and  princely  capitalists  of  the  richest,  proudest,  and 
most  conservative  country  in  the  world,  surrendered  to  him  the 
guardianship  of  their  liberties  with  no  more  fear  or  distrust  than 
the  hereditary  bondmen  of  Turkey  or  J8,ussia  would  have  shown  in 
hailing  the  accession  of  a  new  emperor.  He  was  born  to  com- 
mand, one  of  nature's  despots,  and  he  assumed  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment with  a  perfect  consciousness  of  his  abilities  to  rule. 

He  was  only  twenty-four  years  of  age  when  he  began  to  reign ; 
for,  as  prime  minister  of  George  III.,  he  was,  during  his  continu- 
ance in  office,  the  absolute  ruler  of  the  British  empire.  He  had, 
virtually,  the  nomination  of  his  colleagues,  and,  through  them,  the 
direction  of  all  executive  affairs.  He  was  controlled  by  the  legis- 
lature only,  and  parliament  was  subservient  to  his  will.  What  a 
proud  position  for  a  young  man  to  occupy !  A  commoner,  with 
a  limited  fortune,  to  give  laws  to  a  vast  empire,  and  to  have  a 
proud  nobility  obedient  to  his  will ;  and  all  this  by  the  force  of 
talents  alone  —  talents  which  extorted  admiration  and  respect. 
He  selected  Lord  Tliurlow  as  chancellor.  Lord  Gower  as  presi- 
dent of  the  council,  the  Duke  of  Richmond  as  lord  privy  seal, 
Lords  Carmarthen  and  Sydney  as  secretaries  of  state,  and  Lord 
Howe  as  first  lord  of  the  admiralty.  These  were  his  chief  asso- 
ciates in  resisting  a  powerful  opposition,  and  in  regulating  the  affairs 
of  a  vast  empire  —  the  concerns  of  India,  the  national  debt,  the 
necessary  taxation,  domestic  tranquillity,  and  intercourse  with 
foreign  powers.  But  he  deserved  the  confidence  of  his  sovereign 
and  of  the  nation,  and  they  sustained  him  in  his  extraordinary 
embarrassments  and  difficulties. 


46s  POLICY    OF    PITT.  [chap.  XXIX. 

The  policy  of  the  administration  is  not  here  to  be  discussed ;  but 
it  was  the  one  pursued,  in  the  main,  by  his  father,  and  one  which 
gratified  the  national  pride.  The  time  has  not  yet  come  for  us  to 
decide,  with  certainty,  on  the  wisdom  of  his  course.  He  was  the 
advocate  of  measures  which  had  for  their  object  national  aggran- 
dizement. He  was  the  strenuous  defender  of  war,  and  he  would 
oppose  Napoleon  and  all  the  world  to  secure  preeminence  to 
Great  Britain.  He  believed  that  glory  was  better  than  money ;  he 
thought  that  an  overwhelming  debt  was  a  less  evil  than  national 
disgrace  ;  he  exaggerated  the  resources  and  strength  of  his  coun- 
try, and  believed  that  it  was  destined  to  give  laws  to  the  world ; 
he  underrated  the  abilities  of  other  nations  to  make  great  advances 
in  mechanical  skill  and  manufacturing  enterprise;  he  supposed 
that  English  manufactures  would  be  purchased  forever  by  the  rest 
of  the  world,  and  therefore  that  England,  in  spite  of  the  debt, 
would  make  all  nations  contribute  to  her  glory  and  wealth.  It  was 
to  him  a  matter  of  indifference  how  heavily  the  people  were  taxed 
to  pay  the  interest  on  a  fictitious  debt,  provided  that,  by  their 
commerce  and  manufactures,  they  could  find  abundant  means  to 
pay  this  interest.  And  so  long  as  England  could  find  a  market  for 
her  wares,  the  nation  would  not  suffer  from  taxation.  His  error 
was  in  supposing  that  England,  forever,  would  manufacture  for 
the  world  ;  that  English  skill  was  superior  to  the  skill  of  all  other 
nations  ;  that  there  was  a  superiority  in  the  very  nature  of  an 
Englishman  which  would  enable  him,  in  any  country,  or  under 
any  circumstances,  to  overcome  all  competitors  and  rivals.  Such 
views  were  grateful  to  his  nation  ;  and  he,  by  continually  flatter- 
ing the  national  vanity,  and  ringing  the  changes  on  glory  and 
patriotism,  induced  it  to  follow  courses  which  may  one  day  result 
in  overwhelming  calamities.  Self-exaggeration  is  as  fatal  to  a 
nation  as  it  is  to  an  individual,  and  constitutes  that  pride  which 
precedes  destruction.  But  the  mere  debt  of  England,  being  owed 
to  herself,  and  not  to  another  nation,  is  not  so  alarming  as  it  is 
sometimes  supposed.  The  worst  consequence,  in  a  commercial 
point  of  view,  is  national  bankruptcy ;  but  if  England  becomes 
bankrupt,  her  factories,  her  palaces,  her  warehouses,  and  her  ships 
remain.  These  are  not  destroyed.  Substantial  wealth  does  not 
fly  from  the  island,  but  merely  passes  from  the  hands  of  capitalists 


CHAP.  XXIX.]  DIFFICULTIES   WITH   IRELAND.  453 

to  the  people.  The  policy  of  Pitt  has  merely  enriched  the  few  at 
the  expense  of  the  many  —  has  confirmed  the  power  of  the  aris- 
tocracy. When  manufacturers  can  no  longer  compete  with  those 
of  other  countries,  upon  such  unequal  terms  as  are  rendered  neces- 
sary in  consequence  of  unparalleled  taxation  to  support  the  public 
creditors,  then  the  public  creditors  must  suffer  rather  than  the 
manufacturer  himself.  The  manufacturer  must  live.  This  class 
composes  a  great  part  of  the  nation.  The  people  must  be  fed, 
and  they  will  be  fed ;  and  they  can  be  fed  as  cheaply  as  in  any 
country,  were  it  not  for  taxes.  The  policy  of  Pitt,  during  the 
period  of  commercial  prosperity,  tended,  indeed,  to  strengthen  the 
power  of  the  aristocracy  —  that  class  to  which  he  belonged,  and 
to  which  the  House  of  Commons,  who  sustained  him,  belonged. 
But  it  was  suicidal,  as  is  the  policy  of  all  selfish  men ;  and 
ultimately  must  tend  to  revolutionary  measures,  even  though 
those  measures  may  not  be  carried  by  massacres  and  blazing 
thrones. 

But  we  must  hasten  to  consider  the  leading  events  which  char- 
acterized the  administration  of  William  Pitt.  These  were  the 
troubles  in  Ireland,  parliamentary  reforms,  the  aggrandizement  of 
the  East  India  Company,  the  trial  of  Hastings,  debates  on  the  slave 
trade,  and  the  war  with  France  in  consequence  of  the  French 
Revolution. 

The  difficulties  with  Ireland  did  not  become  alarming  until  the 
French  Revolution  had  created  a  spirit  of  discontent  and  agitation 
in  all  parts  of  Great  Britain.  Soon  after  his  accession  to  powei, 
Mr.  Flood,  a  distinguished  member  of  the  Irish  House  of  Com- 
mons, brought  in  a  bill  of  parliamentary  reform,  which,  after  a  long 
debate,  was  negatived.  Though  his  measure  was  defeated  in  the 
House,  its  advocates  out  of  doors  were  not  cast  down,  but  took 
measures  to  form  a  national  congress,  for  the  amelioration  of  the 
evils  which  existed.  A  large  delegation  of  the  people  actually 
met  at  Dublin,  and  petitioned  parliament  for  the  redress  of  griev- 
ances. Mr.  Pitt  considered  the  matter  with  proper  attention,  ami 
labored  to  free  the  commerce  of  Ireland  from  the  restraints  under 
which  it  labored.  But,  in  so  doing,  he  excited  the  jealousy  of 
British  merchants  and  manufacturers,  and  they  induced  him  to 
remode/'.  his  propositions  for  the  relief  of  Ireland,  which  wen^ 


454  THE   UNITED    IRISHMEN.  [  3HAP.  XXIX. 

then  adopted.  Tranquillity  was  restored  until  the  year  1791, 
when  there  appeared  at  Belfast  the  plan  of  an  as8ociation,  under 
the  name  of  the  United  Irishmen,  whose  object  was  a  radical 
reform  of  all  the  evils  which  had  existed  in  Ireland  since  its  con- 
nection with  England.  This  association  soon  extended  throughout 
the  island,  and  numbered  an  immense  body  of  both  Protestants 
and  Catholics  who  were  disaffected  with  the  government.  In 
consequence  of  the  disaffections,  especially  among  the  Catholics, 
the  English  ministry  made  many  concessions,  and  the  legislature 
allowed  Catholics  to  practice  law,  to  intermarry  with  Protestants, 
and  to  obtain  an  unrestrained  education.  But  parliament  also 
took  measures  to  prevent  the  assembling  of  any  convention  of 
the  people,  and  augmented  the  militia  in  case  of  disturbance. 
But  disturbances  took  place,  and  the  United  Irishmen  began  to 
contemplate  an  entire  separation  from  England,  and  other  treason- 
able designs.  In  consequence  of  these  commotions,  the  Habeas 
Corpus  Act  was  suspended,  and  a  military  government  was  enforced 
with  all  its  rigor.  The  United  Irish  pretended  to  submit,  but  laid 
still  deeper  schemes,  and  extended  their  affiliations.  In  May, 
1797,  the  number  of  men  enrolled  by  the  union  in  Ulster  alone 
was  one  hundred  thousand,  and  their  organization  was  perfect. 
The  French  government  was  aware  of  the  union,  which  gradually 
numbered  five  hundred  thousand  men,  and  promised  it  assistance. 
The  Irish,  however,  relied  chiefly  upon  themselves,  and  prepared 
to  resist  the  English  government,  which  was  resolved  on  pursuing 
the  most  vigorous  measures.  A  large  military  force  was  sent  to 
Ireland,  and  several  ringleaders  of  the  contemplated  insurrection 
were  arrested. 

But  the  timely  discovery  of  the  conspiracy  prevented  one  of 
the  most  bloody  contests  which  ever  happened  in  Ireland.  Never- 
theless, the  insurrection  broke  out  in  some  places,  and  in  the 
county  of  Wexford  was  really  formidable.  The  rebels  num- 
bered twenty  thousand  men.  They  got  possession  of  Wexford, 
and  committed  great  barbarities ;  but  they  were  finally  sub- 
dued by  Lord  Comwallis.  Had  the  French  cooperated,  as  they 
had  promised,  with  a  force  of  fifteen  thousand,  it  is  not  im- 
probable that  Ireland  would  have  been  wrested  from  England. 
But  the  French  had  as  much  as  they  could  do,  at  this  time,  to 


CHAP.  XXIX.]       UNION    OF   ENGLAND   AND    IRELAND.  455 

take  care  of  themselves;  and  Ireland  was  again  subjected  to 
greater  oppressions  than  before. 

The  Irish  parliament  had  hitherto  been  a  mere  body  of  perpetual 
dictators.  By  the  Octennial  Bill,  this  oligarchy  was  disbanded, 
and  the  House  of  Commons  wore  something  of  the  appearance 
of  a  constitutional  assembly,  and  there  were  found  in  it  some  men 
of  integrity  and  sagacity.  Ireland  also  had  her  advocates  in  the 
British  senate  ;  but  whenever  the  people  or  the  parliament  gained 
a  victory  over  the  viceroy,  some  accident  or  blunder  deprived  the 
nation  of  reaping  the  fruits.  The  Commons  became  again  cor- 
rupted, and  the  independence  which  Ireland  obtained  ceased  to 
have  a  value.  The  corrupted  Commons  basely  surrendered  all 
that  had  been  obtained.  In  vain  the  eloquence  of  Curran  and 
Grattan.  The  Irish  nation,  without  public  virtue,  a  prey  to  fac- 
tion, and  a  scene  of  corruption,  became  at  last  powerless  and 
politically  helpless.  The  rebellion  of  1798  was  a  mere  peasants' 
war,  without  intelligence  to  guide,  or  experience  to  counsel. 
It  therefore  miserably  failed,  but  did  not  fail  until  fifty  thousand 
rebels  and  twenty  thousand  royalists  had  perished. 

In  June,  1800,  the  union  of  Ireland  and  England  was  effected, 
on  the  same  basis  as  that  between  England  and  Scotland  in  the  time 
of  Anne.  It  was  warmly  opposed  by  some  of  the  more  patriotic 
of  the  Irish  statesmen,  and  only  carried  by  corruption  and  bribery. 
By  this  union,  foreign  legislation  took  the  place  of  the  guidance  of 
those  best  qualified  to  know  the  national  grievances  ;  the  Irish 
members  became,  in  the  British  senate,  merely  the  tools  of  the 
administration.  Absenteeism  was  nearly  doubled,  and  the  national 
importance  nearly  annihilated  in  a  political  point  ,of  view.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  an  oligarchal  tyranny  was  broken,  and  the 
bond  of  union  which  bound  the  countries  was  strengthened,  and 
the  nation  subsided  into  a  greater  state  of  tranquillity.  Twenty- 
eight  peers  and  one  hundred  commoners  were  admitted  into  the 
English  parliament. 

Notwithstanding  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion  of  1798,  only 
five  years  elapsed  before  another  one  was  contemplated  —  the 
result  of  republican  principles,  and  of  national  grievances.  The 
leaders  were  Robert  Emmet  and  Thomas  Russell.  But  their 
treasonable  designs  were  miserably  supported  by  their  country- 


456  CONDITION    OF   IRELAND.  [cHAP.  XXIX. 

men,  and  they  were  able  to  make  but  a  feeble  effort,  which  imme- 
diately failed.  These  men  were  arrested,  tried,  and  executed. 
The  speech  of  Emmet,  before  his  execution,  has  been  much 
admired  for  its  spirit  of  patriotism  and  pensive  eloquence.  His 
grand  mistake  consisted  in  overrating  the  strength  of  demo- 
cratic influences,  and  in  supposing  that,  by  violent  measures,  he 
could  overturn  a  strong  military  government.  The  Irish  were  not 
prepared  for  freedom,  still  less  republican  freedom.  There  was 
not  sufficient  concert,  or  patriotism,  or  intelligence,  to  secure  pop- 
ular liberty,  and  the  antipathy  between  the  Catholic  and  Protestant 
population  was  too  deeply  seated  and  too  malignant  to  hope, 
reasonably,  for  a  lasting  union. 

All  the  measures  which  have  been  adopted  for  the  independence 
and  elevation  of  Ireland  have  failed,  and  the  country  is  still  in  as 
lamentable  a  state  as  ever.  It  presents  a  grand  enigma  and  mys- 
tery to  the  politician.  All  the  skill  of  statesmen  is  baffled  in 
devising  means  for  the  tranquillity  and  improvement  of  that  un- 
happy and  unfortunate  country.  The  more  privileges  the  people 
gain,  and  the  greater  assistance  they  receive,  the  more  unreason- 
able appear  to  be  their  demands,  and  the  more  extravagant  their 
expectations.  Still,  there  are  great  and  shameful  evils,  which 
ought  to  be  remedied.  There  are  nearly  five  millions  of  acres  of 
waste  land  in  the  country,  capable  of  the  highest  cultivation.  The 
soil  is  inexhaustibly  rich,  the  climate  is  most  delightful,  and  the 
natural  advantages  for  agriculture  and  commerce  unprecedented. 
Still  the  Irish  remain  oppressed  and  poor  ;  enslaved  by  their  priests, 
and  ground  down  to  the  earth  by  exacting  landlords  and  a  hostile 
government.  There  is  no  real  union  between  England  and  Ire- 
land, no  sympathy  between  the  different  classes,  and  an  implacable 
animosity  between  the  Protestant  and  Catholic  population.  The 
northern  and  Protestant  part  of  the  island  is  the  most  flourishing ; 
but  Ireland,  in  any  light  it  may  be  viewed,  is  the  most  miserable 
country,  with  all  the  gifts  of  nature,  the  worst  governed,  and 
the  most  afflicted,  in  Christendom  ;  and  no  human  sagacity  or 
wisdom  has  yet  been  able  to  devise  a  remedy  for  the  innu- 
merable evils  which  prevail.  The  permanent  causes  of  the 
degradation  of  the  Irish  peasantry,  in  their  own  country,  have 
been  variously  attributed  to  the  Roman  Catholic  priesthood,  to  the 


CHAP.  XXIX.]        PARLIAMENTARY  REFORM.  457 

tyranny  of  the  government,  to  the  system  by  which  the  lands  are 
leased  and  cultivated,  and  to  the  natural  elements  of  the  Irish 
character.  These,  united,  may  have  produced  the  effects  which 
all  philanthropists  deplore ;  but  no  one  cause,  in  particular,  can 
account  for  so  fine  a  nation  sinking  into  such  poverty  and  wretch- 
edness, especially  when  it  is  considered  that  the  same  idle  and 
miserable  peasantry,  when  transplanted  to  America,  exhibit  very 
different  dispositions  and  tastes,  and  develop  traits  of  character 
which  command  respect  and  secure  prosperity. 

The  first  plan  for  parliamentary  reform  was  brought  forward 
by  Pitt  in  1783,  before  he  was  prime  minister,  in  consequence  of 
a  large  number  of  the  House  representing  no  important  interests, 
and  dependent  on  the  minister.  But  his  motion  was  successfully 
opposed.  In  May,  1783,  he  brought  in  another  bill  to  add  one 
hundred  members  to  the  House  of  Commons,  and  to  abolish  a 
proportionate  number  of  the  small  and  obnoxious  boroughs.  This 
plan,  though  supported  by  Fox,  was  negatived  by  a  great  majority. 
In  1785,  he  made  a  third  attempt  to  secure  a  reform  of  parlia- 
ment, and  again  failed ;  and  with  this  last  attempt  ended  all  his 
efforts  for  this  object.  So  persuaded  was  he  of  the  impractica- 
bility of  the  measure,  that  he  even  uniformly  opposed  the  object 
when  attempted  by  others.  Moreover,  he  changed  his  opinions 
when  he  perceived  the  full  connection  and  bearing  of  the  subject 
with  other  agitating  questions.  He  was  desirous  of  a  reform,  if  it 
could  be  obtained  without  mischief;  but  when  it  became  a  demo- 
cratic measure,  he  opposed  it  with  all  his  might.  Indeed,  he 
avowed  that  he  preferred  to  have  parliament  remain  as  it  was, 
forever,  rather  than  risk  any  prospects  of  reform  when  the  country 
was  so  deeply  agitated  by  revolutionary  discussions.  Mr.  Pitt 
perfectly  understood  that  those  persons  who  were  most  eager  for 
parliamentary  reform,  desired  the  overthrow  of  the  existing  institu 
tions  of  the  land,  or,  at  least,  such  as  were  inconsistent  with  the 
hereditary  succession  to  the  throne,  hereditary  titles,  and  the  whole 
system  of  entailed  estates.  Mr.  Pitt,  as  he  grew  older,  moro 
powerful,  and  more  experienced,  became  more  aristocratic  and 
conservative ;  feared  to  touch  any  of  the  old  supports  of  the 
constitution  for  fear  of  producing  a  revolution  —  an  evil  which, 
of  all  evils,  he  most  abhorred.  Mr.  Burke,  though  opposed  to  the 
39 


458  WARREN    HASTINGS.  [cHAP.  XXU. 

minister)  here  defended  him,  and  made  an  eloquent  speech  against 
revolutionary  measures.  Nor  can  we  wonder  at  the  change  of 
opinion,  which  Mr.  Pitt  and  others  admitted,  when  it  is  considered 
that  tlie  advocates  of  parliamentary  reform  also  were  asso- 
ciated with  men  of  infidel  and  dangerous  principles.  Thomas 
Paine  was  one  of  the  apostles  of  liberty  in  that  age,  and  his 
writings  had  a  very  great  and  very  pernicious  influence  on  the 
people  at  large.  It  is  very  singular,  but  nevertheless  true,  that 
some  of  the  most  useful  reforms  have  been  projected  by  men  of 
infidel  principles,  and  infidelity  and  revolutionary  excess  have 
generally  been  closely  connected. 

But  the  reform  question  did  not  deeply  agitate  the  people  of 
England  until  a  much  later  period.  One  of  the  most  exciting 
events,  in  the  domestic  history  of  England  during  the  administra- 
tion of  Pitt,  was  the  trial  of  Hastings  and  the  difficulties  which 
grew  out  of  the  aggrandizement  of  the  East  India  Company. 

In  the  chapter  on  colonization,  allusion  was  made  to  Indian 
affairs  until  the  close  of  the  administration  of  Lord  Clive.  War- 
ren Hastings  continued  the  encroachments  and  conquests  which 
Clive  had  so  successfully  begun.  He  went  to  India  in  1750,  at 
the  age  of  seventeen,  as  a  clerk  in  the  service  of  the  company. 
It  was  then  merely  a  commercial  corporation.  His  talents  and 
sagacity  insured  his  prosperity.  He  gradually  was  promoted, 
and,  in  1772,  was  appointed  head  of  the  government  in  Bengal. 
But  the  governor  was  not  then,  as  he  now  is,  nearly  absolute,  and 
he  had  only  one  vote  in  the  council  which  represented  the  company 
at  Calcutta.  He  was  therefore  frequently  overruled,  and  his  power 
was  crippled.  But  he  contrived  to  make  important  changes,  and 
abolished  the  office  of  the  minister  to  whom  was  delegated  the  collec- 
tion of  the  revenue  and  the  general  regulation  of  internal  affairs  — 
an  office  which  had  been  always  held  by  a  native.  Hastings  trans- 
ferred the  internal  administration  to  the  servants  of  the  company, 
and  in  various  other  ways  improved  the  finances  of  the  company,  the 
members  of  which  were  indifferent,  comparatively,  to  the  condition 
of  the  people  of  India,  provided  that  they  themselves  were  enriched. 
To  enrich  the  company  and  extend  its  possessions,  even  at  the  ex- 
pense of  justice  and  humanity,  became  the  object  of  the  governor- 
general.     He  succeeded  ;  but  success  brought  upon  him  the  imprc- 


CHAP.  XXIX.]  WAR   WITH   HYDER   ALL  45*9 

cations  of  the  natives  and  the  indignant  rebukes  of  his  own  country- 
men. In  less  than  two  years  aftet  he  had  assumed  the  government, 
he  added  four  hundred  thousand  pounds  to  the  annual  income  of 
the  company,  besides  nearly  a  million  in  ready  money.  But  the 
administration  of  Hastings  cannot  be  detailed.  We  can  only 
notice  that  part  of  it  which  led  to  his  trial  in  England. 

TJie  great  event  which  marked  his  government  was  the  war 
with  Hyder  Ali,  the  Mohammedan  sovereign  of  Mysore.  The 
province  of  Bengal  and  the  Carnatic  had  been,  for  some  time, 
under  the  protection  of  the  English.  Adjoining  the  Carnatic,  in 
the  centre  of  the  peninsula,  were  the  dominions  of  Hyder  Ali. 
Had  Hastings  been  governor  of  Madras,  he  would  have  concil- 
iated him,  or  vigorously  encountered  him  as  an  enemy.  But  the 
authorities  at  Madras  had  done  neither.  They  provoked  him  to 
hostilities,  and,  with  an  army  of  ninety  thousand  men,  he  invaded 
the  Carnatic.  British  India  was  on  the  verge  of  ruin.  Hyder  Ali 
was  every  where  triumphant,  and  only  a  few  fortified  places  re- 
mained to  the  English. 

Hastings,  when  he  heard  of  the  calamity,  instantly  adopted  the 
most  vigorous  measures.  He  settled  his  difficulties  with  the  Mah* 
rattas ;  he  suspended  the  incapable  governor  of  Fort  George,  and 
sent  Sir  Eyre  Coote  to  oppose  the  great  Mohammedan  prince  who 
threatened  to  subvert  the  English  power  in  India. 

But  Hastings  had  not  the  money  which  was  necessary  to  cann- 
on an  expensive  war  with  the  most  formidable  enemy  the  English 
ever  encountered  in  the  East.  He  therefore  resolved  to  plunder 
the  richest  and  most  sacred  city  of  India  —  Benares.  It  was  the 
seat  of  Indian  learning  and  devotion,  and  contained  five  hundred 
thousand  people.  Its  temple,  as  seen  from  the  Ganges,  was  the 
most  imposing  in  the  Eastern  world,  while  its  bazaars  were  filled 
with  the  most  valuable  and  rare  of  Indian  commodities ;  with  the 
muslins  of  Bengal,  the  shawls  of  Cashmere,  the  sabres  of  Oude, 
and  the  silks  of  its  own  looms. 

This  rich  capital  was  governed  by  a  prince  nominally  subject  to 
the  Great  Mogul,  but  who  was  dependent  on  the  Nabob  of  Oude, 
a  large  province  north  of  the  Ganges,  near  the  Himmaleh  Moun- 
tains. Benares  and  its  territories,  being  oppressed  by  the  Nabob 
of  Oude,  sought  the  protection  of  the  British.     Their  protection 


460  ROBBERY   OF   THE    PRINCESSES    OF    OUDE.     [ CHAP.  XXIX. 

was,  of  course,  readily  extended  ;  but  it  was  fatal  to  the  independ- 
ence of  Benares.  The  alliance  with  the  English  was  like  the 
protection  Rome  extended  to  Greece  when  threatened  by  Asia, 
and  which  ended  in  the  subjection  of  both  Greece  and  Asia.  The 
Rajah  of  Benares  became  the  vassal  of  the  company,  and  there- 
fore was  obliged  to  furnish  money  for  the  protection  he  enjoyed. 

But  the  tribute  which  the  Rajah  of  Benares  paid  did  not  satisfy 
Hastings.  He  exacted  still  greater  sums,  which  led  to  an  insur- 
rection and  ultimate  conquest.  The  fair  domains  of  Cheyte  Sing, 
the  lord  of  Benares,  were  added  to  the  dominions  of  the  company, 
together  with  an  increased  revenue  of  two  hundred  thousand 
pounds  a  year.  The  treasure  of  the  rajah  amounted  to  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  pounds,  and  this  was  divided  as  prize 
money  among  the  English. 

The  rapacious  governor-general  did  not  obtain  the  treasure 
which  he  expected  to  find  at  Benares,  and  then  resolved  to  rob  the 
Princesses  of  Oude,  who  had  been  left  with  immense  treasures  on 
the  death  of  Suraj-w  Dowlah,  the  nabob  vizier  of  the  Grand  Mogul. 
The  only  pretext  which  Hastings  could  find  was,  that  the  insur- 
rection at  Benares  had  produced  disturbances  at  Oude,  and  which 
disturbances  were  imputed  to  the  princesses.  Great  barbarities 
were  inflicted  in  order  to  secure  these  treasures ;  but  the  robbers 
were  successful,  and  immense  sums  flowed  into  the  treasury  of  the 
company.  By  these  iniquities,  the  governor  found  means  to  con- 
duct the  war  in  the  Camatic  successfully,  and  a  treaty  was  con- 
cluded with  Tippoo,  the  son  of  Hyder  Ali,  by  which  the  company 
i-eigned  without  a  rival  on  the  great  Indian  peninsula. 

When  peace  was  restored  to  India,  and  the  company's  servants 
had  accumulated  immense  fortunes,  Hastings  returned  to  England. 
But  the  iniquities  he  had  practised  excited  great  indignation  among 
those  statesmen  who  regarded  justice  and  humanity  as  better  sup- 
ports to  a  government  than  violence  and  rapine. 

Foremost  among  these  patriots  was  Edmund  Burke.  He  had 
long  been  a  member  of  the  select  committee  to  investigate  Indian 
affairs,  and  he  had  bestowed  great  attention  to  them,  and  fully 
understood   the  course  which  Hastings  had  pursued. 

Through  his  influence,  an  inquiry  into  the  conduct  of  the  late 
gevemor-general  was  instituted,  and  he  was  accordingly  impeached 


CHAP.  XXIX.]  PROSECUTION    OF    HASTINGS.  461 

at  the  bar  of  the  House  of  Lords.  Mr.  Pitt  permitted  matters  to 
take  their  natural  course ;  but  the  king,  the  Lord  Chancellor 
Thurlow,  the  ministers  generally,  and  the  directors  of  the  East 
India  Company  espoused  his  cause.  They  regarded  him  as  a 
very  great  man,  whose  rule  had  been  glorious  to  the  nation,  in 
spite  of  the  mistakes  and  cruelties  which  marked  his  government. 
He  had  added  an  empire  to  the  British  crown,  educed  order  out 
of  anarchy,  and  organized  a  system  of  administration  which,  in  its 
essential  features,  has  remained  to  this  time.  He  enriched  the 
company,  while  he  did  not  enrich  himself;  for  he  easily  might 
have  accumulated  a  fortune  of  three  millions  of  pounds.  And  he 
moreover  contrived,  in  spite  of  his  extortions  and  conquests,  to 
secure  the  respect  of  the  native  population,  whose  national  and 
religious  prejudices  he  endeavored  not  to  shock.  "  These  things 
inspired  good  will.  At  the  same  time,  his  constant  success,  and 
tjie  manner  in  which  he  extricated  himself  from  every  difficulty, 
made  him  an  object  of  superstitious  admiration ;  and  the  more 
than  regal  splendor  which  he  sometimes  displayed,  dazzled  a 
people  who  have  much  in  common  with  children.  Even  now, 
after  the  lapse  of  more  than  fifty  years,  the  natives  of  India  still 
talk  of  him  as  the  greatest  of  the  English,  and  nurses  sing  children 
to  sleep  with  a  gingling  ballad  about  the  fleet  horses  and  richly- 
caparisoned  elephants  of  Sahib  Warren  Hostein." 

But  neither  the  admiration  of  the  people  of  the  East  for  the 
splendid  abilities  of  Hastings,  nor  the  gratitude  of  a  company  of 
merchants,  nor  the  powerful  friends  he  had  in  the  English  parlia- 
ment, could  screen  him  from  the  malignant  hatred  of  Francis,  or 
the  purer  indignation  of  Burke.  The  zeal  which  the  latter  evinced 
m  his  prosecution  has  never  been  equalled,  and  -all  his  energies, 
for  years,  were  devoted  to  the  exposure  of  a  person  whom  he 
regarded  as  "  a  delinquent  of  the  first  magnitude."  "  He  had  just 
as  lively  an  idea  of  the  insurrection  at  Benares  as  of  Lord  George 
Gordon's  riots,  and  of  the  execution  of  Nuncomar  as  of  the  exe- 
cution of  Dr.  Dodd."  Burke  was  assisted  in  his  vehement 
prosecution  by  Charles  James  Fox,  the  greatest  debater  ever 
known  in  the  House  of  Commons,  but  a  man  vastly  inferior  to 
himself  in  moral  elevation,  in  general  knowledge,  in  power  of 
fancy,  and  in  profound  wisdom. 
39* 


462  EDMUND  BURKE.  [cHAP.  XXIX. 

The  trial  wus  at  Westminster  Hall,  the  hall  which  had  witnessed 
the  inauguration  of  thirty  kings,  and  the  trials  of  accused  nobles 
since  the  time  of  William  Rufus.  And  he  was  a  culprit  not 
unworthy  of  that  great  tribunal  before  which  he  was  summoned — 
"  a  tribunal  which  had  pronounced  sentence  on  Strafford,  and  pardon 
on  Somers  "  —  the  tribunal  before  which  royalty  itself  had  been 
called  to  account.  Hastings  had  ruled,  with  absolute  sway,  a 
country  which  was  more  populous  and  more  extensive  than  any 
of  tlie  kingdoms  of  Europe,  and  had  gained  a  fame  which  was 
bounded  only  by  the  unknown  countries  of  the  globe.  He  was 
defended  by  three  men  who  subsequently  became  the  three  highest 
judges  of  the  land,  and  he  was  encouraged  by  the  appearance  and 
sympathetic  smiles  of  the  highest  nobles  of  the  realm. 

But  greater  than  all  were  the  mighty  statesmen  who  conducted 
the  prosecution.  First  among  them  in  character  and  genius  was 
Edmund  Burke,  who,  from  the  time  that  he  first  spoke  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  in  1766,  had  been  a  prominent  member,  and 
had,  at  length,  secured  greater  fame  than  any  of  his  contempora- 
ries, Pitt  alone  excepted,  not  merely  as  an  orator,  but  as  an 
enlightened  statesman,  a  philosopher,  and  a  philanthropist.  He 
excelled  all  the  great  men  with  whom  he  was  associated,  in  the 
variety  of  his  powers ;  he  was  a  poet  even  while  a  boy ;  a  pene- 
trating philosopher,  critic,  and  historian  before  the  age  of  thirty ; 
a  statesman  of  unrivalled  moral  wisdom  ;  an  orator  whose  speeches 
have  been  read  with  increasing  admiration  in  every  succeeding 
age ;  a  judge  of  the  fine  arts  to  whose  opinions  Reynolds  submit- 
ted ;  and  a  writer  on  various  subjects,  in  which  he  displayed  not 
only  vast  knowledge,  but  which  he  treated  in  a  style  of  matchless 
beauty  and  force.  All  the  great  men  of  his  age  —  Johnson,  Rey- 
nolds, Goldsmith,  Garrick,  Pitt,  Fox,  Sheridan,  Windham,  North, 
Thurlow,  Parr  —  scholars,  critics,  divines,  and  statesmen  —  bore 
testimony  to  his  commanding  genius  and  his  singular  moral  worth, 
to  his  hatred  of  vice,  and  his  passionate  love  of  virtue.  But 
these  great  and  varied  excellences,  which  secured  him  the  venera- 
tion of  the  finest  minds  in  Europe,  were  not  fully  appreciated  by 
his  own  nation,  which  was  astonished  rather  than  governed  by  his 
prophetic  wisdom.  But  Burke  was  remarkable,  not  merely  for  his 
knowledge,  eloquence,  and  genius,  but  also  for  an  unblemished 


CHAP.  XXIX.J  CHARLES   JAMES    FOX.  463 

private  life,  for  the  habitual  exercise  of  all  those  virtues,  and  the 
free  expression  of  all  those  noble  sentiments  which  only  have 
marked  exalted  Christian  characters.  In  his  political  principles,  he 
was  a  conservative,  and  preferred  to  base  his  views  on  history  and 
experience,  rather  than  to  try  experiments,  especially  when  these 
were  advocated  by  men  whose  moral  character  or  infidel  senti- 
ments excited  his  distrust  or  aversion.  He  did  not  shut  his  eyes 
to  abuse,  but  aimed  to  mend  deliberately  and  cautiously.  His 
admonition  to  his  country  respecting  America  corresponded  with 
his  general  sentiments.  "  Talk  not  of  your  abstract  rights  of 
government ;  I  hate  the  very  sound  of  them ;  follow  experience 
and  common  sense."  He  believed  that  love  was  better  than  force, 
and  that  the  strength  of  any  government  consisted  in  the  affections 
of  the  people.  And  these  he  ever  strove  to  retain,  and  for  these 
he  was  willing  to  relinquish  momentary  gain  and  selfish  aggran- 
dizement. He  advocated  concession  to  the  Irish  legislature  ; 
justice  and  security  to  the  people  of  India ;  liberty  of  conscience 
to  Dissenters ;  relief  to  small  debtors  ;  the  suppression  of  general 
warrants  ;  the  extension  of  the  power  of  juries ;  freedom  of  the 
press ;  retrenchment  in  the  public  expenditures ;  the  removal  of 
commercial  restrictions ;  and  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade.  He 
had  a  great  contempt  for  "  mechanical  politicians,"  and  "  pedler 
principles."  And  he  lived  long  enough  to  see  the  fulfilment  of 
his  political  prophecies,  and  the  horrors  of  that  dreadful  revolution 
which  he  had  predicted  and  disliked,  not  because  the  principles 
which  the  French  apostles  of  liberty  advocated,  were  not  abstract- 
edly true,  but  because  they  were  connected  with  excesses,  and 
an  infidel  recklessness  in  the  violation  of  established  social  rights, 
which  alarmed  and  disgusted  him.  He  died  in  1797,  in  the 
sixty-eighth  year  of  his  age,  beloved  and  honored  by  the  good  and 
great  in  all  Christian  countries. 

Next  to  Burke,  among  the  prosecutors  of  Hastings,  for  great- 
ness and  popularity,  was  Charles  James  Fox ;  inferior  to  Burke 
in  knowledge,  imagination,  and  moral  power,  but  superior  in  all 
the  arts  of  debate,  the  most  logical  and  accomplished  forensic 
orator  which  that  age  of  orators  produced.  His  father.  Lord 
Holland,  had  been  the  rival  of  the  great  Chatham,  and  he  himself 
was  opposed,  nearly  the  whole  of  his  public  life,  to  the  younger 


464  RICHARD   BRINSLEY    SHERIDAN.  [CHAP.  XXIX. 

Pitt.  His  political  principles  were  like  those  of  Burke  until  tlio 
French  Revolution,  whose  principles  he  at  first  admired.  He  was 
emphatically  the  man  of  the  people,  easy  of  access,  social  in  his 
habits,  free  in  his  intercourse,  without  reserve  or  haughtiness,  gen- 
erous, magnanimous,  and  conciliatory.  He  was  unsurpassed  for 
logical  acuteness,  and  for  bursts  of  overpowering  peission.  He 
reached  high  political  station,  although  his  habits  were  such  as 
destroyed,  in  many  respects,  the  respect  of  those  great  men  with 
whom  he  was  associated. 

Richard  Brinsley  Sheridan,  another  of  the  public  accusers  of 
Hastings,  was  a  different  man  from  either  Burke  or  Fox.  He 
was  born  in  Ireland,  but  was  educated  at  Harrow,  and  first  distin- 
guished himself  by  writing  plays.  In  1776,  on  the  retirement  of 
Garrick,  he  became  manager  of  Drury  Lane  Theatre  ;  and  shortly 
after  appeared  the  School  for  Scandal,  which  placed  him  on 
the  summit  of  dramatic  fame.  In  1780,  he  entered  parliament, 
and,  when  Hastings  was  impeached,  was  in  the  height  of  his  repu- 
tation, both  as  a  writer  and  orator.  His  power  consisted  in 
brilliant  declamation  and  sparkling  wit,  and  his  speech  in  relation 
to  the  Princesses  of  Oude  produced  an  impression  almost  without  a 
parallel  in  ancient  or  modem  times.  Mr.  Burke's  admiration  was 
sincere  and  unbounded,  but  Fox  thought  it  too  florid  and  rhetorical. 
His  fame  now  rests  on  his  dramas.  But  his  life  was  the  ship- 
wreck of  genius,  in  consequence  of  his  extravagance,  his  reckless- 
ness in  incurring  debts,  and  his  dissipated  habits,  which  disorgan- 
ized his  moral  character  and  undermined  the  friendships  which 
his  brilliant  talents  at  first  secured  to  him. 

But  in  spite  of  the  indignation  which  these  illustrious  orators 
excited  against  Hastings,  he  was  nevertheless  acquitted,  after  a 
trial  which  lasted  eight  years,  in  consequence  of  the  change  of 
public  opinion ;  and,  above  all,  in  view  of  the  great  services  which 
he  had  really  rendered  to  his  country.  The  expenses  of  the  trial 
nearly  ruined  him ;  but  the  East  India  Company  granted  him  an 
annual  income  of  four  thousand  pounds,  which  he  spent  in  orna- 
menting and  enriching  Daylesford,  the  seat  which  had  once 
belonged  to  his  family,  and  which  he  purchased  after  his  return 
from  India. 

Although   Warren   Hastings  was  eventually  acquitted  by  the 


CHAP.  XXIX.]      BILL    FOR   THE    REGULATION    OF   INDIA.  465 

House  of  Lords,  still  his  long  and  protracted  trial  brought  to  light 
many  evils  connected  with  the  government  of  India  ;  and,  in  1784, 
acts  were  passed  which  gave  the  nation  a  more  direct  control  over 
the  East  India  Company  —  the  most  gigantic  monopoly  the  world 
has  ever  seen.  That  a  company  of  merchants  in  Leadenhall 
Street  should  exercise  an  unlimited  power  over  an  empire  larger 
than  the  whole  of  Europe  with  the  exception  of  Russia,  and  sacri- 
fice the  interests  of  humanity  to  base  pecuniary  considerations,  at 
length  aroused  the  English  nation.  Accordingly,  Mr.  Pitt  brought 
in  a  bill,  which  passed  both  Houses,  which  provided  that  the  affairs 
of  the  company  should  be  partly  managed  by  a  Board  of  Control, 
partly  by  the  Court  of  Directors,  and  partly  by  a  general  meeting 
of  the  stockholders  of  the  company.  The  Board  of  Control  was 
intrusted  to  five  privy  counsellors,  one  of  whom  was  secretary  of 
state.  It  was  afterwards  composed  of  a  president,  such  members 
of  the  privy  council  as  the  king  should  select,  and  a  secretary. 
This  board  superintends  and  regulates  all  civil,  military,  and  reve- 
nue officers,  and  political  negotiations,  and  all  general  despatches. 
The  Board  of  Directors,  composed  of  twenty-four  men,  six  of 
whom  are  annually  elected,  has  the  nomination  of  the  governor- 
general,  and  the  appointment  of  all  civil  and  military  officers. 
These  two  boards  operate  as  a  check  against  each  other. 

The  first  governor-general,  by  the  new  constitution,  was  Lord 
Cornwallis,  a  nobleman  of  great  military  experience  and  elevated 
moral  worth ;  a  man  who  was  intrusted  with  great  power,  even 
after  his  misfortunes  in  America,  and  a  man  who  richly  deserved 
the  confidence  reposed  in  him.  Still,  he  was  seldom  fortunate.  He 
made  blunders  in  India  as  well  as  in  America.  He  did  not  fully 
understand  the  institutions  of  India,  or  the  genius  of  the  people. 
He  was  soon  called  to  embark  in  the  contests  which  divided  the 
different  native  princes,  and  with  the  usual  result.  The  simple 
principle  of  English  territorial  acquisition  is,  in  defending  the 
cause  of  the  feebler  party.  The  stronger  party  was  then  conquered, 
and  became  a  province  of  the  East  India  Company,  while  the 
weaker  remained  under  English  protection,  until,  by  oppression, 
injustice,  and  rapacity  on  the  part  of  the  protectors,  it  was  driven 
to  rebellion,  and  then  subdued. 

When  Lord  Cornwallis  was  sent  to  India,  in  1786,  the  East 

2r 


466  WAR  WITH   TIPPOO    SAIB.  [cHAP.  IXIX. 

India  Company  had  obtained  possession  of  Bengal,  a  part  of  Bahar, 
the  Benares  district  of  Allahabad,  part  of  Orissa,  the  Circars, 
Bombay,  and  the  Jaghire  of  the  Carnatic  —  a  district  of  one  hun- 
dred miles  along  the  coast.  The  other  great  Indian  powers, 
unconquered  by  the  English,  were  the  Mahrattas,  who  occupied 
the  centre  of  India,  from  Delhi  to  the  Krishna,  and  from  the  Bay 
of  Bengal  to  the  Arabian  Sea ;  also,  Golconda,  the  western  parts 
of  the  Carnatic,  Mysore,  Oude,  and  the  country  of  the  Sikhs. 
Of  the  potentates  who  ruled  over  these  extensive  provinces,  the 
Sultan  of  Mysore,  Tippoo  Saib,  was  the  most  powerful,  although 
the  Mahrattas  country  was  the  largest. 

The  hostility  of  Tippoo,  who  inherited  his  father's  prejudices 
against  the  English,  excited  the  suspicions  of  Lord  Comwallis, 
and  a  desperate  war  was  the  result,  in  which  the  sultan  showed 
the  most  daring  courage.  In  1792,  the  English  general  invested 
the  formidable  fortress  of  Seringapatam,  with  sixteen  thousand 
Europeans  and  thirty  thousand  sepoys,  and  with  the  usual  success. 
Tippoo,  after  the  loss  of  this  strong  fort,  and  of  twenty-three 
thousand  of  his  troops,  made  peace  with  Lord  Cornwallis,  by  the 
payment  of  four  millions  of  pounds,  and  the  surrender  of  half  his 
dominions.  Lord  Cornwallis,  after  the  close  of  this  war,  returned 
home,  and  was  succeeded  by  Sir  John  Shore  ;  and  he  by  Marquis 
Wellesley,  (1798,)  under  whose  administration  the  war  with  Tip- 
poo was  renewed,  in  consequence  of  the  intrigues  of  the  sultan 
with  the  French  at  Pondicherry,  to  regain  his  dominions.  The 
Sultan  of  Mysore  was  again  defeated,  and  slain ;  the  dynasty  of 
Hyder  Ali  ceased  to  reign,  and  the  East  India  Company  took  pos- 
session of  the  whole  southern  peninsula.  A  subsequent  war  with 
the  Mahratta  powers  completely  established  the  British  supremacy 
in  India.  Delhi,  the  capital  of  the  Great  Mogul,  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  English,  and  the  emperor  himself  became  a  stipendiary  of 
a  company  of  merchants.  The  conquest  of  the  country  of  the 
Mahrattas  was  indeed  successful,  but  was  attended  by  vast  ex- 
penses, which  entailed  a  debt  on  the  company  of  about  nineteen 
millions  of  pounds.  The  brilliant  successes  of  Wellesley,  how- 
ever, were  not  appreciated  by  the  Board  of  Directors,  who  wanted 
dividends  rather  than  glory,  and  he  was  recalled. 

There  were  no  new  conquests  until  1817,  under  the  government 


CHAP.  XXIX.]  CONQUEST    OF    INDIA.  467 

of  the  Earl  of  Moira,  afterwards  Marquis  of  Hastings.  He  made 
war  on  the  Pindarries,  who  were  bands  of  freebooters  in  Central 
India.  They  were  assisted  by  several  native  powers,  which  in- 
duced the  governor-general  to  demand  considerable  cessions  of 
territory.  In  1819,  the  British  effected  a  settlement  at  Singapore, 
by  which  a  lucrative  commerce  was  secured  to  Great  Britain. 

Lord  Hastings  was  succeeded  by  the  Earl  of  Amherst,  under 
whose  administration  the  Burmese  war  commenced,  and  by  which 
large  territories,  between  Bengal  and  China,  were  added  to  the 
British  empire,  (1826.) 

On  the  overthrow  of  the  Mogul  empire,  the  kingdom  of  the 
Sikhs,  in  the  northern  part  of  India,  and  that  of  the  Affghans,  lying 
west  of  the  Indus,  arose  in  importance — kingdoms  formerly  subject 
to  Persia.  The  former,  with  all  its  dependent  provinces,  has  re- 
cently been  conquered,  and  annexed  to  the  overgrown  dominions 
of  the  Company. 

In  1833,  the  charter  of  the  East  India  Company  expired,  and  a 
total  change  of  system  was  the  result.  The  company  was  de- 
prived of  its  exclusive  right  of  trade,  the  commerce  with  India 
and  China  was  freely  opened  to  all  the  world,  and  the  possessions 
and  rights  of  the  company  were  ceded  to  the  nation  for  an  annual 
annuity  of  six  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  pounds.  The  political 
government  of  India,  however,  was  continued  to  the  company 
until  1853. 

Thus  has  England  come  in  possession  of  one  of  the  oldest  and 
most  powerful  of  the  Oriental  empires,  containing  a  population  of 
one  hundred  and  thirty  millions  of  people,  speaking  various  lan- 
guages, and  wedded  irrecoverably  to  different  social  and  religious 
institutions.  The  conquest  of  India  is  complete,  and  there  is  not 
a  valuable  office  in  the  whole  country  which  is  not  held  by  an 
Englishman.  The  native  and  hereditary  princes  of  provinces, 
separately  larger  and  more  populous  than  Great  Britain  itself,  are 
divested  of  all  but  the  shadow  of  power,  and  receive  stipends  from 
the  East  India  Company.  The  Emperor  of  Delhi,  the  Nabobs  of 
Bengal  and  the  Carnatic,  the  Rajahs  of  Tanjore  and  Benares,  and 
the  Princes  of  the  house  of  Tippoo,  and  other  princes,  receive, 
indeed,  an  annual  support  of  over  a  million  sterling ;  but  their 
power  has  passed  away.  An  empire  two  thousand  miles  from  east 
to  west,  and  eighteen  hundred  from  north  to  south,  and  containing 


468  CONSEQUENCES    OF    THE    CONQUEST.  [cHAP.  XXIX 

more  square  miles  than  a  territory  larger  than  all  the  States  be- 
tween the  Mississippi  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  has  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race.  It  is  true  that  a  considerable 
part  of  Hindostan  is  nominally  held  by  subsidiary  allies,  under  the 
protection  of  the  British  government ;  but  the  moment  that  these 
dependent  princes  cease  to  be  useful,  this  protection  will  be  with 
drawn.  There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  the  English  rule  is 
beneficent  in  many  important  respects.  Order  and  law  are  better 
observed  than  formerly  under  the  Mohammedan  dynasty ;  but  no 
compensation  is  sufficient,  in  the  eyes  of  the  venerable  Brahmin,  for 
interference  in  the  laws  and  religion  of  the  country.  India  has 
been  robbed  by  the  armies  of  European  merchants,  and  is  only 
held  in  bondage  by  an  overwhelming  military  force,  which  must 
be  felt  as  burdensome  and  expensive  when  the  plundered  country 
shall  no  longer  satisfy  the  avarice  of  commercial  corporations. 
But  that  day  may  be  remote.  Calcutta  now  rivals  in  splendor  and 
importance  the  old  capital  of  the  Great  Mogul.  The  palace  of  the 
governor-general  is  larger  than  Windsor  Castle  or  Buckingham 
Palace ;  the  stupendous  fortifications  of  Fort  William  rival  the 
fortress  of  Gibraltar ;  the  Anglo-Indian  army  amounts  to  two 
hundred  thousand  men ;  while  the  provinces  of  India  are  taxed, 
directly  or  indirectly,  to  an  amount  exceeding  eighteen  millions  of 
pounds  per  annum.  It  is  idle  to  speculate  on  the  destinies  of 
India,  or  the  duration  of  the  English  power.  The  future  is  ever 
full  of  gloom,  when  scarcely  any  thing  is  noticeable  but  injustice 
and  oppression  on  the  part  of  rulers,  and  poverty  and  degradation 
among  the  governed.  It  is  too  much  to  suppose  that  one  hundred 
and  eighty  millions  of  the  human  race  can  be  permanently  gov- 
erned by  a  power  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  globe,  and  where 
there  never  can  exist  any  union  or  sympathy  between  the  nation 
that  rules  and  the  nations  that  are  ruled,  in  any  religious,  social,  or 
political  institution ;  and  when  all  that  is  dear  to  the  heart  of  man, 
and  all  that  is  consecrated  by  the  traditions  of  ages,  are  made  to 
subserve  the  interests  of  a  mercantile  state. 

But  it  is  time  to  hasten  to  the  consideration  of  the  remaining 
subjects  connected  with  the  administration  of  William  Pitt. 

The  agitations  of  moral  reformers  are  among  the  most  prominent 
and  interesting.     The  efforts  of  benevolent  statesmen  and  philan- 


CHAP.  XXIX.]  WAR   WITH   FRANCE.  469 

thropists  to  abolish  the  slave  trade  produced  a  great  excitement 
throughout  Christendom,  and  were  followed  by  great  results. 

In  1787,  William  Wilberforce,  who  represented  the  great  county 
of  York,  brought  forward,  in  the  House  of  Commons,  a  motion  for 
the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade.  The  first  public  movements  to 
put  a  stop  to  this  infamous  traffic  were  made  by  the  Quakers  in 
the  Southern  States  of  America,  who  presented  petitions  for  that 
purpose  to  their  respective  legislatures.  Their  brethren  in  Eng- 
land followed  their  example,  and  presented  similar  petitions  to  the 
House  of  Commons.  A  society  was  formed,  and  a  considerable 
sum  was  raised  to  collect  information  relative  to  the  traffic,  and  to 
support  the  expense  of  application  to  parliament.  A  great  resist- 
ance was  expected  and  made,  chiefly  by  merchants  and  planters. 
Mr.  Wilberforce  interested  himself  greatly  in  this  investigation, 
and  in  May  brought  the  matter  before  parliament,  and  supported 
his  motion  with  overwhelming  arguments  and  eloquence.  Mr. 
Fox,  Mr.  Burke,  Mr.  William  Smith,  and  Mr.  Whitbread  sup- 
ported Mr.  Wilberforce.  Mr.  Pitt  defended  the  cause  of  abolition 
with  great  eloquence  and  power ;  but  the  House  was  not  then 
in  favor  of  immediate  abolition,  nor  was  it  carried  until  Mr.  Fox 
and  his  friends  came  into  power. 

The  war  with  France,  in  consequence  of  the  progress  of  the 
revolution,  is  too  great  a  subject  to  be  treated  except  in  a  chapter 
by  itself.  Mr.  Pitt  abstained  from  all  warlike  demonstrations  until 
the  internal  tranquillity  of  England  itself  was  affected  by  the  propa- 
gation of  revolutionary  principles.  But  when,  added  to  these,  it 
was  feared  that  the  French  were  resolved  to  extend  their  empire, 
and  overturn  the  balance  of  power,  and  encroach  on  the  liberties 
of  England,  then  Pitt,  sustained  by  an  overwhelming  majority  in 
parliament,  declared  war  upon  France,  (1793.)  The  advocates 
of  the  French  Revolution,  however,  take  different  views,  and 
attribute  the  rise  and  career  of  Napoleon  to  the  jealousy  and 
encroachments  of  England  herself,  as  well  as  of  Austria  and 
Prussia.  Whether  the  general  European  war  might  not  have  been 
averted,  is  a  point  which  merits  inquiry,  and  on  which  British 
statesmen  are  not  yet  agreed.  But  the  connection  of  England 
with  this  great  war  will  be  presented  in  the  following  chapter. 

Mr,  Pitt  continued  to  manage  the  helm  of  state  until  1806  ;  but 
40 


470  POLICY    OF    PITT.  [chap.  XXIX. 

all  his  energies  were  directed  to  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  and 
no  other  events  of  importance  took  place  during  his  administration. 

His  genius  most  signally  was  displayed  in  his  financial  skill  in 
extricating  his  nation  from  the  great  embarrassments  which 
resulted  from  the  American  war,  and  in  providing  the  means  to 
prosecute  still  more  expensive  campaigns  against  Napoleon  and 
his  generals.  He  also  had  unrivalled  talent  in  managing  the 
House  of  Commons  against  one  of  the  most  powerful  oppositions 
ever  known,  and  in  a  period  of  great  public  excitements.  He 
was  always  ready  in  debate,  and  always  retained  the  confidence 
of  the  nation.  He  is  probably  the  greatest  of  the  English  states- 
men, so  far  as  talents  are. concerned,  and  so  far  as  he  represented 
the  ideas  and  sentiments  of  his  age.  But  it  is  a  question  which 
will  long  perplex  philosophers  whether  he  was  the  wisest  of  that 
great  constellation  of  geniuses  who  enlightened  his  brilliant  age. 
To  him  may  be  ascribed  the  great  increase  of  the  national  debt. 
If  taxes  are  the  greatest  calamity  which  can  afflict  a  nation,  then 
Pitt  has  entailed  a  burden  of  misery  which  will  call  forth  eternal 
curses  on  his  name,  in  spite  of  all  the  brilliancy  of  his  splendid 
administration.  But  if  the  glory  and  welfare  of  nations  consist  in 
other  things  —  in  independence,  patriotism,  and  rational  liberty ; 
if  it  was  desirable,  above  all  material  considerations,  to  check  the 
current  of  revolutionary  excess,  and  oppose  the  career  of  a  man 
who  aimed  to  bring  all  the  kings  and  nations  of  Europe  under 
the  yoke  of  an  absolute  military  despotism,  and  rear  a  universal 
empire  on  the  ruins  of  ancient  monarchies  and  states,  —  then  Pitt 
and  his  government  should  be  contemplated  in  a  different  light. 

That  mighty  contest  which  developed  the  energies  of  this  great 
statesman,  as  well  as  the  genius  of  a  still  more  remarkable  man, 
therefore  claims  our  attention. 


References.  —  Tomline's  Life  of  Pitt.  Belsham's  History  of  George 
ni.  Prior's  and  Bissett's  Lives  of  Burke.  Moore's  Life  of  Sheridan. 
Walpole's  Life  of  Fox.  Life  of  Wilberforce,  by  his  sons.  Annual  Regis- 
ter, from  1783  to  1806.  Macaulay's  Essay  on  Warren  Hastings.  Elphin- 
stone's  and  Martin's  Histories  of  India.  Mill's  British  India.  Russell's 
Modern  Europe.  Correspondence  of  Rt.  Hon.  Edmund  Burke.  Camp- 
bell's Lives  of  the  Lord  Chancellors.  Boswell's  Life  of  Johnson.  Burke's 
Works.    Schlosser's  Modern  History. 


CHAP.  XXX.]   CAUSES  OF  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.         471 

CHAPTER    XXX. 

THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION. 

If  the  American  war  was  the  greatest  event  in  modern  times, 
in  view  of  ultimate  results,  the  French  Revolution  may  be  consid- 
ered the  most  exciting  and  interesting  to  the  eye  of  contemporaries. 
The  wars  which  grew  out.  of  the  Revolution  in  France  were  con- 
ducted on  a  scale  of  much  greater  magnitude,  and  embroiled  all 
the  nations  of  Europe.  A  greater  expenditure  of  energies  took 
place  than  from  any  contest  in  the  annals  of  civilized  nations.  Nor 
has  any  contest  ever  before  developed  so  great  military  genius. 
Napoleon  stands  at  the  head  of  his  profession,  by  general  consent ; 
and  it  is  probable  that  his  fame  will  increase,  rather  than  diminish, 
with  advancing  generations. 

It  is  impossible  to  describe,  in  a  few  pages,  the  great  and  varied 
events  connected  with  the  French  Revolution,  or  even  allude  to  all 
the  prominent  ones.  The  causes  of  this  great  movement  are  even 
more  interesting  than  the  developments. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  could  Louis  XVI.  have  prevented 
the  catastrophe  which  overturned  his  throne  ?  He  might,  perhaps, 
have  delayed  it ;  but  it  was  an  inevitable  event,  and  would  have 
happened,  sooner  or  later.  There  were  evils  in  the  government 
of  France,  and  in  the  condition  of  the  people,  so  overwhelming 
and  melancholy,  that  they  would  have  produced  an  outbreak. 
Had  Richelieu  never  been  minister ;  had  the  Fronde  never  taken 
place  ;  had  Louis  XIV.  and  XV.  never  reigned ;  had  there  been 
no  such  women  as  disgraced  the  court  of  France  in  the  eighteenth 
century  ;  had  there  been  no  tyrannical  kings,  no  oppressive  nobles, 
no  grievous  taxes,  no  national  embarrassments,  no  luxurious  courts, 
no  infidel  writings,  and  no  discontented  people,  —  then  Louis  XVI. 
might  have  reigned  at  Versailles,  as  Louis  XV.  had  done  before 
him.  But  the  accumulated  grievances  of  two  centuries  called 
imperatively  for  redress,  and  nothing  short  of  a  revolution  could 
have  removed  them. 


478  HELVETIUS  —  VOLTAIRE.  [cHAP.  XXX, 

Now,  what  were  those  evils  and  those  circumstances  which,  of 
necessity,  produced  the  most  violent  revolutionary  storm  in  the 
annals  of  the  world  ?  The  causes  of  the  French  revolution  may 
be  generalized  under  five  heads :  First,  the  influence  of  the  writ— 
ings  of  infidel  philosophers  ;  second,  the  diffusion  of  the  ideas  of 
popular  rights;  third,  the  burdens  of  the  people,  which  made 
these  abstract  ideas  of  right  a  mockery ;  fourth,  the  absurd  infat- 
uation of  the  court  and  nobles ;  fifth,  the  derangement  of  the 
finances,  which  clogged  the  wheels  of  government,  and  led  to  the 
assembling  of  the  States  General.  There  were  also  other  causes ; 
but  the  above  mentioned  are  the  most  prominent. 

Of  those  philosophers  whose  writings  contributed  to  produce 
this  revolution,  there  were  four  who  exerted  a  remarkable  influ- 
ence.    These  were  Helvetius,  Voltaire,  Rousseau,  and  Diderot. 

Helvetius  was  a  man  of  station  and  wealth,  and  published,  in 
1758,  a  book,  in  which  he  carried  out  the  principles  of  Condillac 
and  of  other  philosphers  of  the  sensational,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes 
called,  the  sensuous  school.  He  boldly  advocated  a  system  of 
undisguised  selfishness.  He  maintained  that  man  owed  his  supe- 
riority over  the  lower  animals  to  the  superior  organization  of  the 
body.  Proceeding  from  this  point,  he  asserted,  further,  that  every 
faculty  and  emotion  are  derived  from  sensation ;  that  all  minds  are 
originally  equal ;  that  pleasure  is  the  only  good,  and  self-interest 
the  only  ground  of  morality.  The  materialism  of  Helvetius  was 
the  mere  revival  of  pagan  Epicurianism ;  but  it  was  popular,  and 
his  work,  called  De  VEsprit,  made  a  great  sensation.  It  was 
congenial  with  the  taste  of  a  court  and  a  generation  thai  tolerated 
Madame  de  Pompadour.  But  the  Parliament  of  Paris  condemned 
it,  and  pronounced  it  derogatory  to  human  nature,  inasmuch  as  it 
confined  our  faculties  to  animal  sensibility,  and  destroyed  the 
distinctions  between  virtue  and  vice. 

His  fame  was  eclipsed  by  the  brilliant  career  of  Voltaire,  who 
exercised  a  greater  influence  on  his  age  than  any  other  man.  He 
is  the  great  apostle  of  French  infidelity,  and  the  great  oracle  of  the 
superficial  thinkers  of  his  nation  and  age.  He  was  born  in  1694, 
^nd  early  appeared  upon  the  stage.  He  was  a  favorite  at  Ver- 
sailles, and  a  companion  of  Frederic  the  Great  —  as  great  an 
egotist  as  he,  though  his  egotism  was  displayed  in  a  different  way. 


( 


CHAP.  XXX.]  EOTJSSEATT.  473 

He  was  an  aristocrat,  made  for  courts,  and  not  for  the  people, 
with  whom  he  had  no  sympathy,  ahhough  the  tendency  of  his 
writings  was  democratic.  In  all  his  satirical  sallies,  he  professed 
to  respect  authority.  But  he  was  never  in  earnest,  was  sceptical, 
insincere,  and  superficial.  It  would  not  be  rendering  him  justice 
to  deny  that  he  had  great  genius.  But  his  genius  was  to  please, 
to  amuse  a  vainglorious  people,  to  turn  every  thing  into  ridicule, 
to  pull  down,  and  substitute  nothing  instead.  He  was  a  modem 
Lucian,  and  his  satirical  mockery  destroyed  reverence  for  God 
and  truth.  He  despised  and  defied  the  future,  and  the  future  has 
rendered  a  verdict  which  can  never  be  reversed  —  that  he  was 
vain,  selfish,  shallow,  and  cold,  without  faith  in  any  spiritual 
influence  to  change  the  world.  But  he  had  a  keen  perception 
of  what  was  false,  with  all  his  superficial  criticism,  a  perception 
of  what  is  now  called  humbug ;  and  it  cannot  be  denied  that,  in  a 
certain  sense,  he  had  a  love  of  truth,  but  not  of  truth  in  its  highest 
development,  not  of  the  positive,  the  aflarmative,  the  real.  Nega- 
tion and  denial  suited  him  better,  and  suited  the  age  in  which 
he  lived  better ;  hence  he  was  a  "  representative  man,"  was 
an  exponent  of  his  age,  and  led  the  age.  He  hated  the  Jesuits, 
but  chiefly  because  they  advocated  a  blind  authority ;  and  he 
strove  to  crush  Christianity,  because  its  professors  so  often  were 
a  disgrace  to  it,  while  its  best  members  were  martyrs  and  victims. 
Voltaire  did  not,  like  Helvetius,  propose  any  new  system  of 
philosophy,  but  strove  to  make  all  systems  absurd.  He  set  the 
ball  of  Atheism  in  motion,  and  others  followed  in  a  bolder  track ; 
pushed  out,  not  his  principles,  for  he  had  none,  but  his  spirit,  into 
the  extreme  of  mockery  and  negation.  And  such  a  course 
unsettled  the  popular  faith,  both  in  religion  and  laws,  and  made 
men  indifferent  to  the  future,  and  to  their  moral  obligations. 

Quite  a  different  man  was  Rousseau.  He  was  not  a  mocker,  or 
d  leveller,  or  a  satirist,  or  an  atheist.  He  resembled  Voltaire 
only  in  one  respect  —  in  egotism.  He  was  not  so  learned  as 
Voltaire,  did  ngt  write  so  much,  was  not  so  highly  honored  or 
esteemed.  But  he  had  more  genius,  and  exercised  a  greater 
influence  on  posterity.  His  influence  was  more  subtle  and  more 
dangerous,  for  he  led  astray  people  of  generous  impulses  and 
enthusiastic  dispositions,  with  but  little  intelligence  or  experience. 
40* 


474  DIDEROT.  [chap.  XXX. 

He  abounded  in  extravagant  admiration  of  unsophisticated  nature, 
professed  to  love  the  simple  and  earnest,  affected  extraordinary- 
friendship  and  sympathy,  and  was  most  enthusiastic  in  his  rhapso- 
dies of  sentimental  love.  Voltaire  had  no  cant,  but  Rousseau  was 
full  of  it.  Voltaire  was  the  father  of  Danton,  but  Rousseau  of 
Robespierre,  that  sentimental  murderer  who,  as  a  judge,  was  too 
conscientious  to  hang  a  criminal,  but  sufficiently  unscrupulous  to 
destroy  a  king.  The  absurdities  of  Rousseau  can  be  detected  in 
the  ravings  of  the  ultra  Transcendentalists,  in  the  extravagance  of 
Fourierism,  in  the  mock  philanthropy  of  such  apostles  of  light  as 
Eugene  Sue  and  Louis  Blanc.  The  whole  mental  and  physical 
constitution  of  Rousseau  was  diseased,  and  his  actions  were 
strangely  inconsistent  with  his  sentiments.  He  gave  the  kiss  of 
friendship,  and  it  proved  the  token  of  treachery  ;  he  expatiated  on 
simplicity  and  earnestness  in  most  bewitching  language,  but  was 
a  hypocrite,  seducer,  and  liar.  He  was  always  breathing  the 
raptures  of  affection,  yet  never  succeeded  in  keeping  a  friend ;  he 
was  always  denouncing  the  selfishness  and  vanity  of  the  world, 
and  yet  was  miserable  without  its  rewards  and  praises ;  no  man 
was  more  dependent  on  society,  yet  no  man  ever  professed  to 
hold  it  in  deeper  contempt ;  no  man  ever  had  a  prouder  spirit,  yet 
no  man  ever  affected  a  more  abject  humility.  He  dilated,  with 
apparent  rapture,  on  disinterested  love,  and  yet  left  his  own 
children  to  cold  neglect  and  poverty.  He  poisoned  the  weak  and 
the  susceptible  by  pouring  out  streams  of  passion  in  eloquent  and 
exciting  language,  under  the  pretence  of  unburdening  his  own 
soul  and  revealing  his  own  sorrows.  He  was  always  talking  about 
philanthropy  and  generosity,  and  yet  seldom  bestowed  a  charity. 
No  man  was  ever  more  eloquent  in  paradox,  or  sublime  in 
absurdity.  He  spent  his  life  in  gilding  what  is  corrupt,  and 
glossing  over  what  is  impure.  The  great  moral  effect  of  his 
writings  was  to  make  men  commit  crimes  under  the  name  of 
patriotism,  and  permit  them  to  indulge  in  selfish  passion  under  the 
name  of  love. 

But  more  powerful  than  either  of  these  false  prophets  and 
guides,  in  immediate  influence,  was  Diderot ;  and  with  him  the 
whole  school  of  bold  and  avowed  infidels,  who  united  open  athe- 
ism with  a  fierce  democracy.  The  Encyclopedists  professed 
to  know  every  thing,  to  explain  every  thing,  and  to  teach  every 


CHAP.  XXX.]     GENERAL    INFLUENCE    OF   THE    PHILOSOPHERS.  475 

thing',  they  discovered  that  there  was  no  God,  and  taught  that 
truth  was  a  delusion,  and  virtue  but  a  name.  They  were  learned 
in  mathematical,  statistical,  and  physical  science,  but  threw  con- 
tempt on  elevated  moral  wisdom,  on  the  lessons  of  experience, 
and  the  eternal  truths  of  divine  revelation.  They  advocated 
changes,  experiments,  fomentations,  and  impracticable  reforms. 
They  preached  a  gospel  of  social  rights,  inflamed  the  people  with 
disgust  of  their  condition,  and  with  the  belief  that  wisdom  and 
virtue  resided,  in  the  greatest  perfection,  with  congregated  masses. 

They  incessantly  boasted  of  the  greatness  of  philosophy,  and 
the  obsolete  character  of  Christianity.  They  believed  that  suc- 
cessive developments  of  human  nature,  without  the  aid  of  influences 
foreign  to  itself,  would  gradually  raise  society  to  a  state  of  per- 
fection. What  they  could  not  explain  by  their  logical  formularies, 
they  utterly  discarded.  They  denied  the  reality  of  a  Gk)d  in 
heaven,  and  talked  about  the  divinity  of  man  on  earth,  especially 
when  associated  masses  of  the  ignorant  and  brutal  asserted  what 
they  conceived  to  be  their  rights.  They  made  truth  to  reside,  in 
its  greatest  lustre,  with  passionate  majorities;  and  virtue,  in  its 
purest  radiance,  with  felons  and  vagabonds,  if  affiliated  into  a 
great  association.  They  flattered  the  people  that  they  were  wiser 
and  better  than  any  classes  above  them,  that  rulers  were  tyrants, 
the  clergy  were  hypocrites,  the  oracles  of  former  days  mere  fools 
and  liars.  To  sum  up,  in  few  words,  the  French  Encyclopedists, 
"  they  made  Nature,  in  her  outward  manifestations,  to  be  the 
foundation  of  all  great  researches,  man  to  be  but  a  mass  of  organi- 
zation, mind  the  development  of  our  sensations,  morality  to  con- 
sist in  self-interest,  and  God  to  be  but  the  diseased  fiction  of  an 
unenlightened  age.  The  whole  intellect,  being  concentrated  on 
the  outward  and  material,  gave  rise,  perhaps,  to  some  improve- 
ments in  physical  science  ;  but  religion  was  disowned,  morality  de- 
graded, and  man  made  to  be  but  the  feeble  link  in  the  great  chain 
of  events  by  which  Nature  is  inevitably  accomplishing  her  blind 
designs."  From  such  influences,  what  could  we  expect  but 
infidelity,  madness,  anarchy,  and  crimes  ? 

The  second  cause  of  the  French  revolution  was  the  diffusion  of 
the  ideas  of  democratic  liberty.  Rousseau  was  a  republican  in 
his   politics,  as  he   was   a   sentimentalist   in  religion.     Thomas 


476  SUFFERINGS  OF  THE  PEOPLE.       [cHAP.  XXX. 

Paine's  Age  of  Reason  had  a  great  influence  on  the  French  mind, 
as  it  also  had  on  the  English  and  American.  Moreover,  the  apostles 
of  liberty  in  France  were  much  excited  in  view  of  the  success  of 
the  American  Revolution,  and  fancied  that  the  words  "  popular 
liberty,"  "  sovereignty  of  the  people,"  the  "  rights  of  man,"  "  lib- 
erty and  equality,"  meant  the  same  in  America  as  they  did  when 
pronounced  by  a  Parisian  mob.  The  French  people  were  unduly 
flattered,  and  made  to  believe,  by  the  demagogues,  that  they  were 
philosophers,  and  that  they  were  as  fit  for  liberty  as  the  American 
nation  itself.  Moreover,  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  people  had 
really  made  considerable  advances,  and  discovered  that  there  was 
no  right  or  justice  in  the  oppressions  under  which  they  groaned. 
The  exhortations  of  popular  leaders  and  the  example  of  American 
patriots  prepared  the  people  to  make  a  desperate  effort  to  shake 
off  their  fetters.  What  were  rights,  in  the  abstract,  if  they  were 
to  be  ground  down  to  the  dust  ?  What  a  mockery  was  the  watch- 
word of  liberty  and  equality,  if  they  were  obliged  to  submit  to  a 
despotism  which  they  knew  to  be,  in  the  highest  degree,  oppressive 
and  tyrannical  ? 

Hence  the  real  and  physical  evils  which  the  people  of  France 
endured,  had  no  small  effect  in  producing  the  revolution.  Abstract 
ideas  prepared  the  way,  and  sustained  the  souls  of  the  oppressed ; 
but  the  absolute  burdens  which  they  bore  aroused  them  to  resistance. 

These  evils  were  so  great,  that  general  discontent  prevailed 
among  the  middle  and  lower  classes  through  the  kingdom.  The 
agricultural  population  was  fettered  by  game  laws  and  odious  priv- 
ileges to  the  aristocracy.  "  Game  of  the  most  destructive  kind, 
such  as  wild  boars  and  herds  of  deer,  were  permitted  to  go  at 
large  through  spacious  districts,  in  order  that  the  nobles  might 
hunt  as  in  a  savage  wilderness.  Numerous  edicts  prohibited 
weeding,  lest  young  partridges  should  be  disturbed,  and  mowing 
of  hay  even,  lest  their  eggs  should  be  destroyed.  Complaints 
for  the  infraction  of  these  edicts  were  carried  before  courts  where 
every  species  of  oppression  and  fraud  prevailed.  Fines  were 
imposed  at  every  change  of  property  and  at  every  sale.  The 
people  were  compelled  to  grind  their  com  at  their  landlord's  mill, 
to  press  their  grapes  in  his  press,  and  bake  their  bread  in  his  oven." 
In  consequence  of  these  feudal  laws  and  customs,  the  people  were 


CHAP.  XXX.]      DEGRADATION  OF  THE  PEOPLE.  477 

very  poor,  their  houses  dark  and  comfortless,  their  dress  ragged 
and  miserable,  their  food  coarse  and  scanty.  Not  half  of  the 
enormous  taxes  which  they  paid  reached  the  royal  treasury,  or 
even  the  pockets  of  the  great  proprietors.  Officers  were  indefi- 
nitely multiplied.  The  governing  classes  looked  upon  the  people 
only  to  be  robbed.  Their  cry  was  unheard  in  the  courts  of  jus- 
tice, while  the  tear  of  sorrow  was  unnoticed  amid  the  pageantry 
of  the  great,  whose  extravagance,  insolence,  and  pride  were  only 
surpassed  by  the  misery  and  degradation  of  those  unfortunate 
beings  on  whose  toils  they  lived.  Justice  was  bought  and  sold 
like  any  other  commodity,  and  the  decisions  of  judges  were  in- 
fluenced by  the  magnitude  of  the  bribes  which  were  offered  them. 
Besides  feudal  taxes,  the  clergy  imposed  additional  burdens, 
and  swarmed  wherever  there  was  plunder  to  be  obtained.  The 
people  were  so  extravagantly  taxed  that  it  was  no  object  to  be 
frugal  or  industrious.  Every  thing  beyond  the  merest  necessaries 
of  life  was  seized  by  various  tax-gatherers.  In  England,  severe 
as  is  taxation,  three  fourths  of  the  produce  of  the  land  go  to  the 
farmer,  while  in  France  only  one  twelfth  went  to  the  poor  peasant. 
Two  thirds  of  his  earnings  went  to  the  king.  Nor  was  there  any 
appeal  from  this  excessive  taxation,  which  ground  down  the  middle 
and  lower  classes,  while  the  clergy  and  the  nobles  were  entirely 
exempted  themselves.  Nor  did  the  rich  proprietor  live  upon  his 
estates.  He  was  a  non-resident,  and  squandered  in  the  cities  the 
money  which  was  extorted  from  his  dependents.  He  took  no 
interest  in  the  condition  of  the  peasantry,  with  whom  he  was  not 
united  by  any  common  ties.  Added  to  this  oppression,  the  land- 
lord was  cruel,  haughty,  and  selfish ;  and  he  irritated  by  his  inso- 
lence as  well  as  oppressed  by  his  injustice.  All  situations  in  the 
army,  the  navy,  the  church,  the  court,  the  bench,  and  in  diplo- 
macy were  exclusively  filled  by  the  aristocracy,  of  whom  there 
were  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people  —  a  class  insolent, 
haughty,  effeminate,  untaxed  ;  who  disdained  useful  employments, 
who  sought  to  live  by  the  labor  of  others,  and  who  regarded  those 
by  whose  toils  they  were  enabled  to  lead  lives  of  dissipation  and 
pleasure,  as  ignoble  minions,  who  were  unworthy  of  a  better  des- 
tiny, and  unfit  to  enjoy  those  rights  which  God  designed  should 
be  possessed  by  the  whole  human  race. 


478  DERANGEMENT    OF    FINANCES.  [cHAP.  XXX. 

The  privileges  and  pursuits  of  the  aristocratic  class,  from  the 
king  to  a  lieutenant  in  his  army,  were  another  cause  of  revolution. 
Louis  XV.  squandered  twenty  million  pounds  sterling  in  pleasures 
too  ignominious  to  be  even  named  in  the  public  accounts,  and  en- 
joyed almost  absolute  power.  He  could  send  any  one  in  his  domin- 
ions to  rot  in  an  ignominious  prison,  without  a  hearing  or  a  trial. 
The  odious  lettre  de  cachet  could  consign  the  most  powerful  noble  to 
a  dungeon,  and  all  were  sent  to  prison  who  were  offensive  to  govern- 
ment. The  king's  mistresses  sometimes  had  the  power  of  sending 
their  enemies  to  prison  without  consulting  the  king.  The  lives 
and  property  of  the  people  were  at  his  absolute  disposal,  and  he 
did  not  scruple  to  exercise  his  power  with  thoughtless,  and  some- 
times inhuman  cruelty. 

,  But  these  evils  would  have  ended  only  in  disaffection,  and  hatred, 
iind  unsuccessful  resistance,  had  not  the  royal  finances  been 
I  deranged.  So  long  as  the  king  and  his  ministers  could  obtain 
/money,  there  was  no  immediate  danger  of  revolution.  So  long 
as  he  could  pay  the  army,  it  would,  if  decently  treated,  support  an 
absolute  throne. 

But  the  king  at  last  found  it  difficult  to  raise  a  sufficient  revenue 
for  his  pleasures  and  his  wars.  The  annual  deficit  was  one 
hundred  and  ninety  million  of  francs  a  year.  The  greater  the 
deficit,  the  greater  was  the  taxation,  which,  of  course,  increased 
the  popular  discontent. 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  when  Louis  XVI.  ascended  the 
throne  of  Hugh  Capet,  (1774,)  in  his  twentieth  year,  having  mar- 
ried, four  years  before,  Marie  Antoinette,  daughter  of  Maria  The- 
resa, empress  of  Austria.  He  was  grandson  of  Louis  XV.,  who 
bequeathed  to  him  a  debt  of  four  thousand  millions  of  livres. 

The  new  king  was  amiable  and  moral,  and  would  have  ruled 
France  in  peaceful  times,  but  was  unequal  to  a  revolutionary  crisis. 
"  Of  all  the  monarchs,"  says  Alison,  "  of  the  Capetian  line,  he 
was  the  least  able  to  stem,  and  yet  the  least  likely  to  provoke,  a 
revolution.  The  people  were  tired  of  the  arbitrary  powers  of 
their  monarch,  and  he  was  disposed  to  abandon  them  ;  they  were 
provoked  at  the  expensive  corruptions  of  the  court,  and  he  was 
both  innocent  in  his  manners,  and  unexpensive  in  his  habits ;  they 
demanded   reformation  in  the   administration  of  affairs,  and  he 


CHAP.  XXX.]   MAUREPAS TURCOT MALESHERBES.         479 

placed  his  chief  glory  in  yielding  to  the  public  voice.  His  reign, 
from  his  accession  to  the  throne  to  the  meeting  of  the  States  Gen- 
eral, was  nothing  but  a  series  of  ameliorations,  without  calming 
the  public  effervescence.  He  had  the  misfortune  to  wish  sincerely 
for  the  public  good,  without  possessing  the  firmness  necessary  to 
secure  it ;  and  with  truth  it  may  be  said  that  reforms  were  more 
fatal  to  him  than  the  continuance  of  abuses  would  have  been  to 
another  sovereign." 

He  made  choice  of  Maurepas  as  his  prime  minister,  an  old 
courtier  without  talent,  and  who  was  far  from  comprehending  the 
spirit  of  the  nation  or  the  genius  of  the  times.  He  accustomed 
the  king  to  half  measures,  and  pursued  a  temporizing  policy,  ill 
adapted  to  revolutionary  times.  The  discontents  of  the  people 
induced  the  king  to  dismiss  him,  and  Turgot,  for  whom  the  people 
clamored,  became  prime  minister.  He  was  an  honest  man,  and 
contemplated  important  reforms,  even  to  the  abolition  of  feudal 
privileges  and  the  odious  lettres  de  cachet,  which  were  of  course 
opposed  by  the  old  nobility,  and  were  not  particularly  agreeable 
to  the  sovereign  himself. 

Malesherbes,  a  lawyer  who  adopted  the  views  of  Turgot,  suc- 
ceeded him,  and,  had  he  been  permitted,  would  have  restored  the 
rights  of  the  people,  and  suppressed  the  lettres  de  cachet,  reenacted 
the  Edict  of  Nantes,  and  secured  the  liberty  of  the  press.  But 
he  was  not  equal  to  the  crisis,  with  all  his  integrity  and  just  views, 
and  Necker  became  financial  minister. 

He  was  a  native  of  Geneva,  a  successful  banker,  and  a  man 
who  had  won  the  confidence  of  the  nation.  He  found  means  to 
restore  the  finances,  and  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  American 
war.  But  he  was  equally  opposed  by  the  nobles,  who  wanted  no 
radical  reform,  and  he  was  not  a  man  of  sufficient  talent  to  stem 
the  current  of  revolution.  Financial  skill  was  certainly  desirable, 
but  no  financiering  could  save  the  French  nation  on  the  eve  of 
bankruptcy,  with  such  vast  expenditures  as  then  were  deemed 
necessary.  The  nobles  indeed  admitted  the  extent  of  the  evils 
which  existed,  and  descanted,  on  their  hunting  parties,  in  a  strain 
of  mock  philanthropy,  but  would  submit  to  no  sacrifices  them- 
selves, and  Necker  was  compelled  to  resign. 

M.  de  Calonne  took  his  place ;    a  man  of  ready   invention. 


480  NECKER CALONNE.  [cHAP.  XXX. 

unscrupulous,  witty,  and  brilliant.  Self-confident  and  full  of 
promises,  ho  succeeded  in  imparting  a  gleam  of  sunshine,  and 
pursued  a  plan  directly  the  opposite  to  that  adopted  by  Necker. 
He  encouraged  the  extravagance  of  the  court,  derided  the  future, 
and  warded  off  pressing  debts  by  contracting  new  ones.  He 
pleased  all  classes  by  his  captivating  manners,  brilliant  conversa- 
tion, and  elegant  dress.  The  king,  furnished  with  what  money  he 
wanted,  forgot  the  burdens  of  the  people,  and  the  minister  went 
on  recklessly  contracting  new  loans,  and  studiously  concealing 
from  the  public  the  extent  of  the  annual  deficit. 

But  such  a  policy  could  not  long  be  adopted  successfully,  and  the 
people  were  overwhelmed  with  amazement  when  it  finally  appeared 
that,  since  the  retirement  of  Necker  in  1781,  Calonne  had  added 
sixteen  hundred  and  forty-six  millions  of  francs  to  the  public  debt. 
National  bankruptcy  stared  every  body  in  the  face.  It  was  neces- 
sary that  an  extraordinary  movement  should  be  made ;  and  Ca- 
lonne recommended  the  assembling  of  the  Notables,  a  body  com- 
posed chiefly  of  the  nobility,  clergy,  and  magistracy,  with  the 
hope  that  these  aristocrats  would  consent  to  their  own  taxation. 

He  was  miserably  mistaken.  The  Notables  met,  (1787,)  the 
first  time  since  the  reign  of  Henry  IV.,  and  demanded  the  dismis- 
sal of  the  minister,  who  was  succeeded  by  Brienne,  Archbishop 
of  Toulouse. 

He  was  a  weak  man,  and  owed  his  elevation  to  his  influence 
with  women.  He  won  the  queen  by  his  pleasing  conversation, 
but  had  no  solid  acquirements.  Occupying  one  of  the  highest 
positions  in  his  church,  he  yet  threw  himself  into  the  arms  of 
atheistical  philosophers.  A  man  so  inconsistent  and  so  light  was 
not  fit  for  his  place. 

However,  the  Notables  agreed  to  what  they  had  refused  to 
Calonne.  They  consented  to  a  land  tax,  to  the  stamp  duty,  to 
provincial  assemblies,  and  to  the  suppression  of  the  gratuitous 
service  of  vassals.  These  were  popular  measures,  but  were  insuf- 
ficient. Brienne  was  under  the  necessity  of  proposing  the  impo- 
sition of  new  taxes.  But  the  Parliament  of  Paris  refused  to  regis- 
ter the  edict.  A  struggle  between  the  king  and  the  parliament 
resulted  ;  and  the  king,  in  order  to  secure  the  registration  of  new 
taxes,  resorted  to  the  hed  of  justice  —  the  last  stretch  of  his  royal 
Dower. 


I 


CHAP,  XXX.]  STATES   GENERAL.  481 

During  one  of  the  meetings  of  the  parliament,  when  the  abuses 
and  prodigality  of  the  court  were  denounced,  a  member,  punning 
upon  the  word  etats^  (statements,)  exclaimed,  "  It  is  not  statements 
but  States  General  that  we  want." 

From  that  moment,  nothing  was  thought  of  or  talked  about 
but  the  assembling  of  the  States  General ;  to  which  the  minister, 
from  his  increasing  embarrassments,  consented.  Moreover,  the 
court  hoped,  in  view  of  the  continued  opposition  of  the  parliament, 
that  the  Tiers  Etat  would  defend  the  throne  against  the  legal  aris- 
tocracy. 

All  classes  formed  great  and  extravagant  expectations  from  the 
assembling  of  the  States  General,  and  all  were  doomed  to  disap- 
pointment, but  none  more  than  those  who  had  most  vehemently 
and  enthusiastically  called  for  its  convocation. 

The  Archbishop  of  Toulouse  soon  after  retired,  unable  to  stem 
the  revolutionary  current.  But  he  contrived  to  make  his  own  for- 
tune, by  securing  benefices  to  the  amount  of  eight  hundred  thou- 
sand francs,  the  archbishopric  of  Sens,  and  a  cardinal's  hat.  At 
his  recommendation  Necker  was  recalled. 

On  Necker's  return,  he  found  only  two  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand francs  in  the  royal  treasury ;  but  the  funds  immediately  rose 
thirty  per  cent.,  and  he  was  able  to  secure  the  loans  necessary  to 
carry  on  the  government,  rich  capitalists  fearing  that  absolute 
ruin  would  result  unless  they  came  to  his  assistance. 

Then  followed  discussions  in  reference  to  the  Tiers  Etat,  as  to 
what  the  third  estate  really  represented,  and  as  to  the  number  of 
deputies  who  should  be  called  to  the  assembly  of  the  States  Gen- 
eral. "  The  Tiers  Etat,"  said  the  Abbe  Sieyes,  in  an  able  pam- 
phlet, "  is  the  French  nation,  minus  the  noblesse  and  the  clergy." 

It  was  .at  last  decided  that  the  assembly  should  be  at  least  one 
thousand,  and  that  the  number  of  deputies  should  equal  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  nobles  and  clergy.  The  elections  were  carelessly 
conducted,  and  all  persons,  decently  dressed,  were  allowed  to  vote. 
Upwards  of  three  millions  of  electors  determined  the  choice  of 
deputies.  Necker  conceded  too  much,  and  opened  the  flood-gates 
of  revolution.  He  had  no  conception  of  the  storm  which  was  to 
overwhelm  the  throne. 

On  the  4th  of  May,  1789,  that  famous  Assembly,  which  it  was 
41       2 G  ■        , 


482  THE   TIERS   ETAT.  [cHAP.  XXX. 

ho))ed  would  restore  prosperity  to  France,  met  with  great  pomp  in 
the  cathedral  church  of  Notre  Dame,  and  the  Bishop  of  Nancy 
delivered  the  sermon,  and,  the  next  day,  the  assembly  was  opened 
in  the  hall  prepared  for  the  occasion.  The  king  was  seated  on  a 
magnificent  throne,  the  nobles  and  the  clergy  on  both  sides  of  the 
hall,  and  the  third  estate  at  the  farther  end.  Louis  XVI.  pro- 
nounced a  speech  full  of  disinterested  sentiments,  and  Necker 
read  a  report  in  reference  to  the  state  of  the  finances. 

The  next  day,  the  deputies  of  the  Tiers  Etat  were  directed  to 
the  place  allotted  to  them,  which  was  the  common  hall.  The 
nobles  and  clergy  repaired  to  a  separate  hall.  It  was  their  inten- 
tion, especially  in  view  of  the  great  number  of  the  deputies,  to 
deliberate  in  distinct  halls.  But  the  deputies  insisted  upon  the 
three  orders  deliberating  together  in  the  same  room.  Angry  dis- 
cussions and  conferences  took  place.  But  there  was  not  sufficient 
union  between  the  nobles  and  the  clergy,  or  sufficient  energy  on 
the  part  of  the  court.  There  happened  also  to  be  some  bold  and 
revolutionary  spirits  among  the  deputies,  and  they  finally  resolved, 
.  by  a  majority  of  four  hundred  and  ninety-one  to  ninety,  to  assume 
the  title  of  National  Assembly,  and  invited  the  members  of  the 
other  chamber  to  join  them.  They  erected  themselves  into  a  sov- 
ereign power,  like  the  Long  Parliament  of  Charles  I.,  disregarding 
both  the  throne  and  the  nobility. 

Some  of  the  most  resolute  of  the  nobles  urged  the  king  to  adopt 
vigorous  measures  against  the  usurpation  of  the  third  estate ;  but 
he  was  timid  and  irresolute. 

The  man  who  had,  at  that  time,  the  greatest  influence  in  the 
National  Assembly  was  Mirabeau,  a  man  of  noble  birth,  but  who 
had  warmly  espoused  the  popular  side.  He  was  disagreeable  in 
his  features,  licentious  in  his  habits,  and  a  bankrupt  in  reputation, 
but  a  man  of  commanding  air,  of  great  abilities,  and  unrivalled 
eloquence.  His  picture  has  been  best  painted  by  Carlyle,  both  in 
his  essays  and  his  history  of  the  revolution. 

The  National  Assembly  contained  many  great  men,  who  would 
never  have  been  heard  of  in  quiet  times ;  some  of  great  virtues 
and  abilities,  and  others  of  the  most  violent  revolutionary  princi- 
ples. There  were  also  some  of  the  nobility,  who  joined  them,  not 
anticipating  the  evils  which  were  to  come.     Among  them  were  the 


CHAP.  XXX.]  COMMOTIONS.  483 

Dukes  of  Orleans,  Rochefoucault,  and  Liancourt,  Count  Lally 
Tollendal,  the  two  brothers  Lameth,  Clermont  Tonnerre,  and  the 
Marquis  de  La  Fayette,  all  of  whom  were  guillotined  or  exiled 
during  the  revolution. 

The  discussions  in  the  Assembly  did  not  equal  the  tumults  of 
the  people.  All  classes  were  intoxicated  with  excitement,  and 
believed  that  a  new  era  was  to  take  place  on  earth ;  that  all  the 
evils  which  afflicted  society  were  to  be*  removed,  and  a  state  of 
unbounded  liberty,  plenty,  and  prosperity,  was  about  to  take  place. 

In  the  midst  of  the  popular  ferments,  the  regiment  of  guards, 
comprising  three  thousand  six  hundred  men,  revolted  ;  immense 
bodies  of  workmen  assembled  together,  and  gave  vent  to  the  most 
inflammator}'-  language ;  the  Hotel  of  the  Invalids  was  captured ; 
fifty  thousand  pikes  were  forged  and  distributed  among  the  people  ; 
the  Bastile  was  stormed  ;  and  military  massacres  commenced. 
Soon  after,  the  tricolored  cockade  was  adopted,  the  French  guards 
were  suppressed  by  the  Assembly,  the  king  and  his  family  were 
brought  to  Paris  by  a  mob,  and  the  Club  of  the  Jacobins  was 
established.  Before  the  year  1789  was  ended,  the  National  As- 
sembly was  the  supreme  power  in  France,  and  the  king  had 
become  a  shadow  and  a  mockery  ;  or,  rather,  it  should  be  said  that 
there  was  no  authority  in  France  but  what  emanated  from  the  peo- 
ple, and  no  power  remained  to  suppress  popular  excesses  and 
insurrections.  The  Assembly  published  proclamations  against  acts 
of  violence  ;  but  it  was  committed  in  a  contest  with  the  crown  and 
aristocracy,  and  espoused  the  popular  side.  A  famine,  added  to 
other  horrors,  set  in  at  Paris  ;  and  the  farmers,  fearing  that  their 
grain  would  be  seized,  no  longer  brought  it  to  market.  Manufac- 
tures of  all  kinds  were  suspended,  and  the  public  property  was 
confiscated  to  supply  the  immediate  wants  of  a  starving  and  infu- 
riated people.  A  state  was  rapidly  hastening  to  universal  violence 
crime,  misery,  and  despair. 

The  year  1790  opened  gloomily,  and  no  one  could  tell  when  the 
agitating  spirit  would  cease,  or  how  far  it  would  be  carried,  for  the 
mob  of  Paris  was  rapidly  engrossing  the  power  of  the  state.  One 
of  the  first  measures  of  the  Assembly  was  to  divest  the  provinces 
of  France  of  their  ancient  privileges,  since  they  were  jealous  of 
the  sovereignty  exercised  by  the  Assembly,  and  to  divide  the  king- 


484  HULE    OF    THE    PEOPLE.  [cHAP.    XXX. 

^\  dom  into  eighty-four  new  departments,  nearly  equal  in  extent  and 
population.  A  criminal  tribunal  was  established  for  each  depart- 
ment, and  a  civil  court  for  each  of  the  districts  into  which  the 
department  was  divided.  The  various  officers  and  magistrates 
were  elected  by  the  people,  and  the  qualification  for  voting  was  a 
contribution  to  the  amount  of  three  days'  labor.  By  this  great 
step,  the  whole  civil  force  in  the  kingdom  was  placed  at  the  dispo- 
sal of  the  lower  classes.  They  had  the  nomination  of  the  munici- 
pality, and  the  control  of  the  military,  and  the  appointment  of 
judges,  deputies,  and  officers  of  the  National  Guard.  Forty-eight 
thousand  comm-unes,  or  municipalities,  exercised  all  the  rights  of 
sovereignty,  and  hardly  any  appointment  was  left  to  the  crown. 
A  complete  democratic  constitution  was  made,  which  subverted  the 
ancient  divisions  of  the  kingdom,  and  all  those  prejudices  and 
.  interests  which  had  been  nursed  for  centuries.  The  great  extenv 
sion  of  the  electoral  franchise  introduced  into  the  Assembly  a  class 
of  men  who  were  prepared  to  make  the  most  impracticable 
changes,  and  commit  the  most  violent  excesses. 

The  next  great  object  of  the  Assembly  was  the  regulation  of  the 
finances.  Further  taxation  was  impossible,  and  the  public  neces- 
sities were  great.  The  revenue  had  almost  failed,  and  the  national 
debt  had  alarmingly  increased,  —  twelve  hundred  millions  in  less 
than  three  years.  The  capitalists  would  advance  nothing,  and 
voluntary  contributions  had  produced  but  a  momentary  relief. 
Under  these  circumstances,  the  spoliation  of  the  church  was 
resolved,  and  Talleyrand,  Bishop  of  Autun,  was  the  first  to  pro- 
pose the  confiscation  of  the  property  of  his  order.  The  tempta- 
tion was  irresistible  to  an  infidel  and  revolutionary  assembly ;  for 
the  church  owned  nearly  one  half  of  the  whole  landed  property 
of  the  kingdom.  Several  thousand  millions  of  francs  were  confis- 
cated, ind  the  revenues  of  the  clergy  reduced  to  one  fifth  of  their 
formei  amount. 

This  violent  measure  led  to  another.  There  was  no  money  to 
pay  for  the  great  estates  which  the  Assembly  wished  to  sell.  The 
municipalities  of  the  large  cities  became  the  purchasers,  and  gave 
promissory  notes  to  the  public  creditors  until  payment  should  be 
made ;  supposing  that  individuals  would  buy  in  small  portions. 
Sales  not  being  eflfected  by  the  municipalities,  as  was  expected, 


CHAP.  XXX.]  NATIONAL   FEDERATION.  485 

and  payment  becoming  due,  recourse  was  had  to  government  bills. 
Thus  arose  the  system  of  Assignats,  which  were  issued  to  a  great 
amount  on  the  security  of  the  church  lands,  and  which  resulted  in 
a  paper  circulation,  and  the  establishment  of  a  vast  body  of  small 
landholders,  whose  property  sprung  out  of  the  revolution,  and 
whose  interests  were  identified  with  it.  The  relief,  however  great, 
was  momentary.  New  issues  were  made  at  every  crisis,  until 
the  over  issue  alarmed  the  reflecting  portion  of  the  community, 
and  assignats  depreciated  to  a  mere  nominal  value.  At  the  close 
of  the  year,  the  credit  of  the  nation  was  destroyed,  and  the  pre- 
:;ious  metals  were  withdrawn,  in  a  great  measure,  from  circulation. 

Soon  after,  the  assembly  abolished  all  titles  of  nobility,  changed  < 
the  whole  judicial  system,  declared  its  right  to  make  peace  and 
war,  and  este.blished  the  National  Guard,  by  which  three  hundred 
thousand  men  were  enrolled  in  support  of  revolutionary  measures. 

On  the  14th  of  July,  the  anniversary  of  the  capture  of  the  Bas- 
tile,  was  the  celebrated  National  Federation,  when  four  hundred 
thousand  persons  repaired  to  the  Champ  de  Mars,  to  witness  the 
king,  his  ministers,  the  assembly,  and  the  public  functionaries, 
take  the  oath  to  the  new  constitution ;  the  greatest  mockery  of  the 
whole  revolution,  although  a  scene  of  unparalleled  splendor. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  year,  an  extensive  emigration  of  the 
nobles  took  place  ;  a  great  blunder  on  their  part,  since  their  estates 
were  immediately  confiscated,  and  since  the  forces  left  to  support 
the  throne  were  much  diminished.  The  departure  of  so  many 
distinguished  persons,  however,  displeased  the  Assembly,  and  pro- 
posals were  made  to  prevent  it.  But  Mirabeau,  who,  until  this 
time,  had  supported  the  popular  side,  now  joined  the  throne,  and 
endeavored  to  save  it.  His  popularity  was  on  the  decline,  when  a 
natural  death  relieved  him  from  a  probable  execution.  He  had 
contributed  to  raise  the  storm,  but  he  had  not  the  power  to  allay  it. 
He  exerted  his  splendid  abilities  to  arrest  the  revolution,  whose 
consequences,  at  last,  he  plainly  perceived.  But  in  vain.  His 
death,  however,  was  felt  as  a  public  calamity,  and  all  Paris  assem- 
jled  to  see  his  remains  deposited,  with  extraordinary  pomp,  in  the 
Pantheon,  by  the  side  of  Des  Cartes.  Had  he  lived,  he  might 
possibly  have  saved  the  lives  of  the  king  and  queen,  but  he  CQuM 
not  have  prevented  the  revolution. 
41* 


486  FLIGHT  OF  THE  KING.  [cHAP.  XXX 

Soon  after,  the  royal  family,  perceiving,  too  late,  that  they  were 
mere  prisoners  in  the  Tuileries,  undertook  to  escape,  and  fly  to 
Coblentz,  where  the  great  body  of  emigrants  resided.  The  unfor- 
tunate king  contrived  to  reach  Varennes,  was  recognized,  and 
brought  back  to  Paris.  But  the  National  Assembly  made  a  blun- 
der in  not  permitting  him  to  escape  ;  for  it  had  only  to  declare  the 
throne  vacant  by  his  desertion,  and  proceed  to  institute  a  republi- 
can government.  The  crime  of  regicide  might  have  been  avoided, 
and  further  revolutionary  excesses  prevented.  But  his  return 
increased  the  popular  ferments,  and  the  clubs  demanded  his  head. 
He  was  suspended  from  his  functions,  and  a  guard  placed  over 
his  person. 

On  the  29th  of  September,  1791,  the  Constituent  Assembly 
dissolved  itself;  having,  during  the  three  years  of  iis  existence, 
enacted  thirteen  hundred  and  nine  laws  and  decrees  relative  to 
the  general  administration  of  the  state.  It  is  impossible,  even 
now,  to  settle  the  question  whether  it  did  good  or  ill,  on  the  whole  ; 
but  it  certainly  removed  many  great  and  glaring  evils,  and  enact- 
ed many  wise  laws.  It  abolished  torture,  the  letires  de  cachet, 
the  most  oppressive  duties,  the  privileges  of  the  nobility,  and  feudal 
burdens.  It  established  a  uniform  system  of  jurisprudence,  the 
National  Guards,  and  an  equal  system  of  finance.  "  It  opened  the 
army  to  men  of  merit,  and  divided  the  landed  property  of  the 
aristocracy  among  the  laboring  classes ;  which,  though  a  violation 
of  the  rights  of  property,  enabled  the  nation  to  bear  the  burdens 
which  were  subsequently  imposed,  and  to  prosper  under  the  evils 
connected  with  national  bankruptcy,  depreciated  assignats,  the 
Reign  of  Terror,  the  conscription  of  Napoleon,  and  the  subjuga- 
tion of  Europe." 

The  Legislative  Assembly,  composed  of  inexperienced  men, 

V    —  country  attorneys  and  clerks  for  the  most  part,  among  whom 

there   were   not   fifty  persons  possessed  of  one  hundred  pounds 

a  year,  —  took  the  place  of  the  Constituent  Assembly,  and  opened 

its  sittings  on  the  1st  of  October. 

In  the  first  assembly  there  was  a  large  party  attached  to  royal 
and  aristocratical  interests,  and  many  men  of  great  experience 
and  talents.  But  in  the  second  nearly  all  were  in  favor  of  revolu- 
tionary principles.  They  only  differed  in  regard  to  the  extent  to 
which  revolution  should  be  carried. 


\ 
\ 


CHAP.  XXX.]         THE    GIBONDISTS    AND    THE    JACOBINS.  487 

The  members  of  the  right  were  called  the  Feuillants,  from  the 
club  which  formed  the  centre  of  tlieir  power,  and  were  friends  of 
the  constitution,  or  the  limited  monarchy  which  the  Constituent 
Assembly  had  established.  The  national  guard,  the  magistrates, 
and  all  the  constituted  authorities,  were  the  supporters  of  this  party. 

The  Girondists^  comprehending  the  more  respectable  of  the 
republicans,  and  wishing  to  found  the  state  on  the  model  of 
antiquity,  formed  a  second  party,  among  whom  were  numbered 
the  ablest  men  in  the  assembly.  Brissot,  Vergniaud,  Condorcet, 
Guadet,  and  Isnard,  were  among  the  leading  members. 

There  was  also  a  third  party,  headed  by  Chabot,  Bazin,  and 
Merlin,  which  was  supported  by  the  clubs  of  the  Jacobins  and  the 
Cordeliers.  The  great  oracles  of  the  Jacobins  were  Robespierre, 
Varennes,  and  Collot  d'Herbois ;  while  the  leaders  of  the  Corde- 
liere  were  Danton  and  Desmoulins.  Robespierre  was  excluded, 
as  were  others  of  the  last  assembly,  from  the  new  one,  by  a  sort 
of  self-denying  ordinance  which  he  himself  had  proposed.  His 
influence,  at  that  time,  was  immense,  from  the  extravagance  of  his 
opinions,  the  vehemence  of  his  language,  and  the  reputation  he 
had  acquired  for  integrity. 

Between  these  three  parties  there  were  violent  contentions,  and 
the  struggle  for  ascendency  soon  commenced,  to  end  in  the  com- 
plete triumph  of  the  Jacobinical  revolutionists. 

In  tne  mean  time,  the  restrictions  imposed  on  the  king,  who 
still  enjoyed  the  shadow  of  authority,  the  extent  of  popular  excesses, 
and  the  diffusion  of  revolutionary  principles,  induced  the  leading 
monarchs  of  Europe  to  confederate  together,  in  order  to  suppress 
disturbances  in  France.  In  July,  the  Emperor  Leopold  appealed 
to  the  sovereigns  of  Europe  to  unite  for  the  deliverance  of  Louis 
XVI.  Austria  collected  her  troops,  the  emigrants  at  Coblentz 
made  warlike  demonstrations,  and  preparations  were  made  for  a 
contest,  which,  before  it  was  finished,  proved  the  most  bloody  and 
extensive  which  has  desolated  the  world  since  the  fall  of  the 
Roman  empire. 

The  Constitue.'.t  Assembly  rejected  with  disdain  the  dictation 
of  the  various  Earopean  powers ;  and  the  new  ministry,  of  which 
Dumourier  and  Roland  were  the  most  prominent  members,  pre- 
pared for  war.     All  classes  in  France  were  anxious  for  it,  and  it 


488  THE   NATIONAL   CONVENTION.  [CHAP.  XXX. 

was  soon  declared.  On  the  25th  of  July,  the  Duke  of  Brunswick, 
with  an  army  of  one  hundred  and  forty-eight  thousand  Prussians, 
Austrians,  and  Hessians,  entered  the  French  territory.  The  spirit 
of  resistance  animated  all  classes,  and  the  ardor  of  the  multitude 
was  without  a  parallel.  The  manifesto  of  the  allied  powers  indi- 
cated the  dispositions  of  the  court  and  emigrants.  Revolt  against 
the  throne  now  seemed  necessary,  in  order  to  secure  the  liberty  of 
the  people,  who  now  had  no  choice  between  victory  and  death. 
On  the  25th  of  July,  the  Marseillais  arrived  in  Paris,  and  aug- 
^  mented  the  strength  and  confidence  of  the  insurgents.  Popular 
y  commotions  increased,  and  the  clubs  became  unmanageable.  On 
A.  the  10th  of  August,  the  tocsin  sounded,  the  generate  beat  in  every 
"^  quarter  of  Paris,  and  that  famous  insurrection  took  place  which 
overturned  the  throne.  The  Hotel  de  Ville  was  seized  by  the 
insurgents,  the  Tuileries  was  stormed,  and  the  Swiss  guards  were 
massacred.  The  last  chance  for  the  king  to  regain  his  power  was 
lost,  and  Paris  was  in  the  hands  of  an  infuriated  mob. 

The  confinement  of  the  king  in  the  Temple,  the  departure  of 
the  foreign  ambassadors,  the  flight  of  emigrants,  the  confiscation 
of  their  estates,  the  massacres  in  the  prisons,  the  sack  of  palaces, 
the  fall  and  flight  of  La  Fayette,  and  the  dissolution  of  the  Legis- 
lative Assembly,  rapidly  succeeded. 

On  the  21st  of  September,  the  National  Convention  was  opened, 
and  was  composed  of  the  most  violent  advocates  of  revolution. 
/V  It  was  ruled  by  those  popular  orators  who  had  the  greatest  influ- 
^  ence  in  the  clubs.  The  most  influential  of  these  leaders  were 
\  Danton,  Marat,  and  Robespierre.  Danton  was  the  hero  of  the 
late  insurrection ;  was  a  lawyer,  a  man  of  brutal  courage,  the 
slave  of  sensual  passions,  and  the  idol  of  the  Parisian  mob.  He 
was  made  minister  of  justice,  and  was  the  author  of  the  subse- 
quent massacres  in  the  prisons.  But,  with  all  his  ferocity,  he  was 
lenient  to  individuals,  and  recommended  humanity  after  the  period 
of  danger  had  passed. 

Marat  was  a  journalist,  president  of  the  Jacobin  Club,  a  member 
of  the  convention,  and  a  violent  advocate  of  revolutionary  ex- 
cesses. His  bloody  career  was  prematurely  cut  off  by  the  hand 
of  a  heroine,  Qiarlotte  Corday,  who  offered  up  her  own  life  to  rid 
the  country  of  the  greatest  monster  which  the  annals  of  crime 
have  consigned  to  an  infamous  immortality. 


CHAP.  XXX. J     MARAT DANTON ROBESPIERRE.  489 

Robespierre  was  a  sentimentalist,  and  concealed,  under  the 
mask  of  patriotism  and  philanthropy,  an  insatiable  ambition,  in- 
ordinate vanity,  and  implacable  revenge.  He  was  above  the 
passion  of  money,  and,  when  he  had  at  his  disposal  the  lives  and 
fortunes  of  his  countrymen,  lived  upon  a  few  francs  a  day.  It  is 
the  fashion  to  deny  to  him  any  extraordinary  talent ;  but  that  he 
was  a  man  of  domineering  will,  of  invincible  courage,  and  austere 
enthusiasm  appears  from  nearly  all  the  actions  of  his  hateful 
career. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  the  awful  massacre  in  the  prisons,  where 
more  than  five  thousand  perished  to  appease  the  infatuated 
vengeance  of  the  Parisian  mob,  that  the  National  Convention 
commenced  its  sittings. 

Its  first  measure  was,  to  abolish  the  monarchy,  and  proclaim 
a  republic  ;  the  next,  to  issue  new  assignats.  The  two  preceding 
assemblies  had  authorized  the  fabrication  of  twenty-seven  hundred 
millions  of  francs,  and  the  Convention  added  millions  more  on 
the  security  of  the  national  domains.  On  the  7th  of  November, 
the  trial  of  the  king  was  decreed  ;  and,  on  the  11th  of  December, 
his  examination  commenced.  On  his  appearance  at  the  bar  of 
the  Convention,  the  president,  Barrere,  said,  "  Louis,  the  French 
nation  accuses  you ;  you  are  about  to  hear  the  charges  that  are 
to  be  preferred.     Louis,  be  seated." 

The  charges  consisted  of  the  whole  crimes  of  the  revolution,  to 
which  he  replied  with  dignity,  simplicity,  and  directness.  He  was 
defended,  in  the  mock  trial,  by  Deseze,  Tronchet,  and  Malesherbes-, 
but  his  blood  was  demanded,  and  the  assembly  unanimously  pro- 
nounced the  condemnation  of  their  king.  That  seven  hundred  men, 
with  all  the  natural  differences  of  opinion,  could  be  found  to  do  this, 
shows  the  excess  of  revolutionary  madness.  On  the  20th  of  Jan- 
uary, Santerre  appeared  in  the  royal  prison,  and  read  the  sentence 
of  death  ;  and  only  three  days  were  allowed  the  king  to  prepare  for 
the  last  hour  of  anguish.  On  the  24th  of  January,  he  mounted 
the  scaffold  erected  between  the  garden  of  the  Tuileries  and  the 
Champs  Elysees,  and  the  fatal  axe  separated  his  head  from  his 
body.  His  remains  were  buried  in  the  ancient  cemetery  of  the 
Madeleine,  over  which  Napoleon  commenced,  after  the  battle  of 
Jena,  a  splendid  temple  of  glory,  but  which  was  not  finished  until 


490  GENERAL    WAR.  [cHAP.  XXX. 

the  restoration  of  the  Bourbons,  who  converted  it  into  the  beautiful 
church  which  bears  the  name  of  the  ancient  cemetery.  The  spot 
where  Louis  XVI.  offered  up  his  life,  in  expiation  of  the  crimes  of 
liis  ancestors,  is  now  marked  by  the  colossal  obelisk  of  red  granite, 
which  the  French  government,  in  1831,  brought  from  Egypt,  a 
monument  which  has  witnessed  the  march  of  Cambyses,  and  may 
survive  the  glory  of  the  French  nation  itself. 

The  martyrdom  of  Louis  XVI.  was  the  signal  for  a  general  war. 
All  the  powers  of  Europe  united  to  suppress  the  power  and  the 
principles  of  the  French  revolutionists.  The  Convention,  aftei 
declaring  war  against  England,  Holland,  Spain,  Austria,  Prussia, 
Portugal,  the  Two  Sicilies,  the  Roman  States,  Sardinia,  and  Pied- 
mont, —  all  of  which  had  combined  together,  —  ordered  a  levy 
of  three  hundred  thousand  men,  instituted  a  military  tribunal,  and 
imposed  a  forced  loan  on  the  rich  of  one  thousand  millions,  and 
prepared  to  defend  the  principles  of  liberty  and  the  soil  of  France. 
The  enthusiasm  of  the  French  was  unparalleled,  and  the  energies 
put  forth  were  most  remarkable.  Patriotism  and  military  ardor 
were  combined,  and  measures  such  as  only  extraordinary  necessi- 
ties require  were  unhesitatingly  adopted. 

A  Committee  of  Public  Safety  was  appointed,  and  the  dictator- 
ship of  Danton,  Marat,  and  Robespierre  commenced,  marked  by 
great  horrors  and  barbarities,  but  signalized  by  wonderful  successes 
in  war,  and  by  exertions  which,  under  common  circumstances, 
would  be  scarcely  credited. 

This  committee  was  composed  of  twenty-five  persons  at  first, 
and  twelve  afterwards;  but  Robespierre  and  Marat  were  the 
leading  members.  The  committee  assigned  to  ruling  Jacobins  the 
different  departments  of  the  government.  St.  Just  was  intrusted 
with  the  duty  of  denouncing  its  enemies  ;  Couthon  for  bringing  for- 
ward its  general  measures ;  Billaud  Varennes  and  Collot  d'Her- 
Ijois  with  the  management  of  departments  ;  Carnot  was  made 
minister  of  war ;  and  Robespierre  general  dictator.  This  com- 
mittee, though  required  to  report  to  the  Convention,  as  the  supreme 
authority,  had  really  all  the  power  of  government.  "  It  named  and 
dismissed  generals,  judges,  and  juries  ;  brought  forward  all  public 
measures  in  the  Convention  ;  ruled  provinces  and  armies  ;  controlled 
the  Revolutionary  Tribunal ;  and  made  requisitions  of  men  and 


CHAP.  XXX.]  REIGN  OF  TERROR  491 

money  ;  and  appointed  revolutionary  committees,  which  sprung  up 
in  every  part  of  the  kingdom  to  the  frightful  number  of  fifty  thou- 
sand. It  w^as  the  object  of  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety  to 
destroy  all  who  opposed  the  spirit  of  the  most  violent  revolutionary 
measures.  Marat  declared  that  two  hundred  and  sixty  thousand 
heads  must  fall  before  freedom  was  secure;  the  revolutionaiy 
committees  discovered  that  seven  hundred  thousand  persons  must 
be  sacrificed." 

Then  commenced  the  Reign  of  Terror,  when  all  the  prisons  of 
France  were  filled  with  victims,  who  were  generally  the  most 
worthy  people  in  the  community,  and  whose  only  crime  was  in 
Ijeing  obnoxious  to  the  reigning  powers.  Those  who  were  sus- 
pected fled,  if  possible,  but  were  generally  unable  to  carry  away 
their  property.  Millions  of  property  was  confiscated  ;  the  prisons 
were  crowded  with  the  rich,  the  elegant,  and  the  culuvated  classes ; 
thousands  were  guillotined ;  and  universal  anarchy  and  fear 
reigned  without  a  parallel.  Deputies,  even  those  who  had  been 
most  instrumental  in  bringing  on  the  Revolution,  were  sacrificed 
by  the  triumphant  Jacobins.  Women  and  retired  citizens  were 
not  permitted  to  escape  their  fear  and  vengeance.  Marie  Antoi- 
nette, and  the  Princess  Elizabeth,  and  Madame  Roland,  were 
among  the  first  victims.  Then  followed  the  executions  of  Bailly, 
Mayor  of  Paris ;  Barnave,  one  of  the  most  eloquent  and  upright 
members  of  the  Constituent  Assembly ;  Dupont  Dutertre,  one  of 
the  ministers  of  Louis  XVI. ;  Lavoisier,  the  chemist ;  Condorcet, 
the  philosopher ;  General  Custine  ;  and  General  Houchard ;  all 
of  whom  had  been  the  allies  of  the  present  dominant  party.  The 
Duke  of  Orleans,  called  Egalite,  who  had  supported  the  revolt  of 
the  10th  of  August,  and  had  voted  for  the  execution  of  the  king, 
shared  the  fate  of  Louis  XVT.  He  was  the  father  of  Louis  Philippe, 
and,  of  all  the  victims  of  the  revolution,  died  the  least  lamented. 

The  "  Decemvirs  "  had  now  destroyed  the  most  illustrious  advo- 
cates of  constitutional  monarchy  and  of  republican  liberty.  The 
slaughter  of  their  old  friends  now  followed.  The  first  victim  was 
Danton  himself,  who  had  used  his  influence  to  put  a  stop  to  the 
bloody  executions  which  then  disgraced  the  country,  and  had 
recognized  the  existence  of  a  God  and  the  rights  of  humanity. 
For  such  sentiments  he  was  denounced  and  executed,  together  with 


492  DEATH    OF    ROBESPIERRE.  [cHAP.  XXX. 

Camille,  Desmoulins,  and  Lacroix,  who  perished  because  they 
were  less  wicked  than  their  associates.  Finally,  the  anarchists 
themselves  fell  before  the  storm  which  they  had  raised,  and 
Hebert,  Gobet,  Clootz,  and  Vincent  died  amid  the  shouts  of  general 
execration.  The  Committee  of  Public  Safety  had  now  all  things 
in  their  own  way,  and,  in  their  iron  hands,  order  resumed  its  sway 
from  the  influence  of  terror.  "  The  history  of  the  world  has  no 
parallel  to  the  horrors  of  that  long  night  of  suffering,  because  it  has 
no  parallel  to  the  guilt  which  preceded  it ;  tyranny  never  assumed 
so  hideous  a  form,  because  licentiousness  never  required  so  severe 
a  punishment." 

The  Committee  of  Public  Safety,  now  confident  of  its  strength, 
decreed  the  disbanding  of  the  revolutionary  army,  raised  to  over- 
awe the  capital,  and  the  dissolution  of  all  the  popular  societies 
which  did  not  depend  on  the  Jacobin  Club,  and  devoted  all  their 
energies  to  establish  their  power.  But  death  was  the  means  which 
they  took  to  secure  it,  and  two  hundred  thousand  victims  filled  the 
prisons  of  France. 

At  last,  fear  united  the  members  of  the  Convention,  and  they 
resolved  to  free  the  country  of  the  great  tyrant  who  aimed  at  the 
suppression  of  all  power  but  his  own.  "  Do  not  flatter  your- 
selves," said  Tallien  to  the  Girondists,  "  that  he  will  spare  you, 
for  you  have  committed  an  unpardonable  offence  in  being  free- 
men." "  Do  you  still  live  ?  "  said  he  to  the  Jacobins ;  "  in  a  few 
days,  he  will  have  your  heads,  if  you  do  not  take  his."  All  par- 
ties in  the  assembly  resolved  to  overthrow  their  common  enemy. 
Robespierre,  the'  chief  actor  of  the  bloody  tragedy,  Dumas,  the 
president  of  the  "Revolutionary  Tribunal,  Henriot,  the  commander 
of  the  National  Guard,  Couthon  and  St.  Just,  the  tools  of  the 
tyrant,  were  denounced,  condemned,  and  executed.  The  last 
hours  of  Robespierre  were  horrible  beyond  description.  When 
he  was  led  to  execution,  the  blood  flowed  from  his  broken  jaw, 
his  face  was  deadly  pale,  and  he  uttered  yells  of  agony,  which 
filled  all  hearts  with  terror.  But  one  woman,  nevertheless,  pene- 
trated the  crowd  which  surrounded  him,  exclaiming,  "  Murderer 
of  my  kindred !  your  agony  fills  me  with  joy ;  descend  to  hell, 
covered  with  the  curses  of  every  mother  in  France." 

Thus  terminated  the  Reign  of  Terror,  during  which,  nearly 


CHAP.  XXX.]  NEW   CONSTITUTION.  493 

nineteen  thousand  persons  were  guillotined ;  and  among  these 
were  over  two  thousand  nobles  and  one  thousand  priests,  besides 
immense  numbers  of  other  persons,  by  war  or  the  axe,  in  other 
parts  of  France. 

But  vigorous  measures  had  been  adopted  to  carry  on  the  war 
against  united  Christendom.  No  less  than  two  hundred  and  eighty 
thousand  men  were  in  the  field,  on  the  part  of  the  allies,  from 
Basle  to  Dunkirk.  Toulon  and  Lyons  had  raised  the  standard 
of  revolt,  Mayence  gave  the  invaders  a  passage  into  the  heart 
of  the  kingdom,  while  sixty  thousand  insurgents  in  La  Vendee 
threatened  to  encamp  under  the  walls  of  Paris.  But  under  the 
exertions  of  the  Committee,  and  especially  of  Carnot,  the  min- 
ister of  war,  still  greater  numbers  were  placed  under  arms, 
France  was  turned  into  an  immense  workshop  of  military  prepa- 
rations, and  the  whole  property  of  the  state,  by  means  of  confis- 
cations and  assignats,  put  at  the  disposal  of  the  government.  The 
immense  debts  of  the  government  were  paid  in  paper  money, 
while  conscription  filled  the  ranks  with  all  the  youth  of  the  state. 
Added  to  all  this  force  which  the  government  had  at  its  disposal, 
it  must  be  remembered  that  the  army  was  burning  with  enthusi- 
astic dreams  of  liberty,  and  of  patriotism,  and  of  glory.  No 
wonder  that  such  a  nation  of  soldiers  and  enthusiasts  should  have 
been  able  to  resist  the  armies  of  united  Christendom. 

On  the  death  of  Robespierre,  (July,  1794,)  a  great  reaction 
succeeded  the  Reign  of  Terror.  His  old  associates  and  tools  were 
executed  or  transported,  the  club  of  the  Jacobins  was  closed,  the 
Revolutionary  Tribunals  were  suppressed,  the  rebellious  foubourgs 
were  subdued,  the  National  Guard  was  reorganized,  and  a  new 
constitution  was  formed. 

The  constitution  of  1798,  framed  under  different  influences, 
established  the  legislative  power  among  two  councils,  —  that  of  the 
Five  Hundred,  and  that  of  the  Ancients.  The  former  was  in- 
trusted with  the  power  of  originating  laws  ;  the  latter  had  the  power 
to  reject  or  pass  them.  The  executive  power  was  intrusted  to  five 
persons,  called  Directors,  who  were  nominated  by  the  Council  of 
Five  Hundred,  and  approved  by  that  of  the  Ancients.  Each 
individual  was  to  be  president  by  rotation  during  three  months, 
and  a  new  director  was  to  be  chosen  every  year.  The  Directory 
42 


494  THE   DIRECTORY.  [cHAP.  XXX. 

had  the  entire  disposal  of  the  army,  the  finances,  the  appointment 
of  pubHc  functionaries,  and  the  management  of  public  negotiations. 

But  there  were  found  powerful  enemies  to  the  new  constitution. 
Paris  was  again  agitated.  The  National  Guard  took  part  with  the 
disaffected,  and  the  Convention,  threatened  and  perplexed,  stm- 
moned  to  its  aid  a  body  of  five  thousand  regular  troops.  The 
National  Guard  mustered  in  great  strength,  to  the  number  of  thirty 
thousand  men,  and  resolved  to  overawe  the  Convention,  which 
was  likened  to  the  Long  Parliament  in  the  times  of  Cromwell.  The 
Convention  intrusted  Barras  with  its  defence,  and  he  demanded, 
as  his  second  in  command,  a  young  officer  of  artillery  who  had 
distinguished  himself  at  the  siege  of  Toulon.  By  his  advice,  a 
powerful  train  of  artillery  was  brought  to  Paris  by  a  lieutenant 
called  Murat.  On  the  4th  of  October,  1795,  the  whole  neigh- 
borhood of  the  Tuileries  resembled  an  intrenched  camp.  The 
commander  of  the  Convention  then  waited  the  attack  of  the  insur- 
gents, and  the  action  soon  commenced.  Thirty  thousand  men 
surrounded  the  little  army  of  six  thousand,  who  defended  the  Con- 
vention and  the  cause  of  order  and  law.  Victory  inclined  to  the 
regular  troops,  who  had  the  assistance  of  artillery,  and,  above  all, 
who  were  animated  by  the  spirit  of  their  intrepid  leader  —  Napo- 
leon Bonaparte.  The  insurgents  were  not  a  rabble,  but  the  flower 
of  French  citizens ;  but  they  were  forced  to  yield  to  superior 
military  skill,  and  the  reign  of  the  military  commenced. 

Thus  closed  what  is  technically  called  the  French  Revolution  ; 
the  most  awful  political  hurricane  in  the  annals  of  modern  civil- 
ized nations.  It  closed,  nominally,  with  the  accession  of  the 
Directory  to  power,  but  really  with  the  accession  of  Napoleon ; 
for,  shortly  after,  his  victories  filled  the  eyes  of  the  French  nation, 
and  astonished  the  whole  world. 

It  is  impossible  to  pronounce  on  the  effects  of  this  great  Revo- 
lution, since  a  sufficient  time  has  not  yet  elapsed  for  us  to  form 
healthy  judgments.  We  are  accustomed  to  associate  with  some 
of  the  actors  every  thing  that  is  vile  and  monstrous  in  human  nature. 
But  unmitigated  monsters  rarely  appear  on  earth.  The  same  men 
who  excite  our  detestation,-  had  they  lived  in  quiet  times  might 
have  been  respected.  Even  Robespierre  might  have  retained  an 
honorable  name  to  his  death,  as  an  upright  judge.    But  the  French 


CHA.P.  XXX. J  REFLECTIONS.  495 

Tnind  was  deranged.  New  ideas  had  turned  the  brains  of  enthu- 
siasts. The  triumph  of  the  abstract  principles  of  justice  seemed 
more  desirable  than  the  preservation  of  human  life.  The  sense 
of  injury  and  wrong  was  too  vivid  to  allow  heated  partisans  to 
make  allowances  for  the  common  infirmities  of  man.  The  enthu- 
siasts in-  liberty  could  not  see  in  Louis  XVI.  any  thing  but  the  em- 
blem of  tyranny  in  the  worst  form.  They  fancied  that  they  could 
regenerate  society  by  their  gospel  of  social  rights,  and  they  over- 
valued the  virtues  of  the  people.  But,  above  all,  they  over-esti- 
mated themselves,  and  placed  too  light  a  value  on  the  imperishable 
principles  of  revealed  religion ;  a  religion  which  enjoins  patience 
and  humility,  as  well  as  encourages  the  spirit  of  liberty  and  prog- 
ress. But  whatever  may  have  been  their  blunders  and  crimes, 
and  however  marked  the  providence  of  God  in  overruling  them 
for  the  ultimate  good  of  Europe,  still,  all  contemplative  men  be- 
hold in  the  Revolution  the  retributive  justice  of  the  Almighty,  in 
humiliating  a  proud  family  of  princes,  and  punishing  a  vain  and 
oppressive  nobility  for  the  evils  they  had  inflicted  on  society. 


References.  —  Alison's  History  of  the  French  Revolution,  marked  by 
his  English  prejudices,  heavy  in  style,  and  inaccurate  in  many  of  his  facts, 
yet  lofty,  temperate,  and  profound.  Thiers's  History  is  more  lively,  and 
takes  different  views.  Carlyle's  work  is  extremely  able,  but  the  most 
difficult  to  read  of  all  his  works,  in  consequence  of  his  affected  and 
abQra.inable  style.  Lamartine's  History  of  the  Girondists  is  sentimental, 
but  pleasing  and  instructive.  Mignet's  History  is  also  a  standard.  liacre- 
teUe's  Histoire  de  France,  and  the  Memoirs  of  Mirabeau,  Necker,  and  Robes- 
pierre should  be  read.  Carlyle's  Essays  on  Mirabeau  and  Danton  are 
extremely  able.  Burke's  Reflections  should  be  read  by  all  who  wish  to 
have  the  most  vivid  conception  of  the  horrors  of  the  awful  event  which  he 
deprecated.  The  Annual  Register  should  be  consulted.  For  a  general 
list  of  authors  who  have  written  on  this  period,  see  Alison's  index  of 
writers,  prefixed  to  his  great  work,  but  which  are  too  numerous  to  be 
mentioned  here. 


496  NAPOLEON  BONAPARTE.        [cHAP.  XXXI 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

NAPOLEON  BONAPARTE. 

Mr.  Alison  has  found  it  necessary  to  devote  ten  large  octavo 
volumes  to  the  life  and  times  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte  ;  nor  can  the 
varied  events  connected  with  his  brilliant  career  be  satisfactorily 
described  in  fewer  volumes.  The  limits  of  this  work  will  not,  how- 
ever, permit  a  notice  extending  beyond  a  few  pages.  Who,  then, 
even  among  those  for  whom  this  History  is  especially  designed, 
will  be  satisfied  with  our  brief  review  ?  But  only  a  brief  allusion 
to  very  great  events  can  be  made  ;  for  it  is  preposterous  to  attempt 
to  condense  the  life  of  the  greatest  actor  on  the  stage  of  rea. 
tragedy  in  a  single  chapter.  And  yet  there  is  a  uniformity  in 
nearly  all  of  the  scenes  in  which  he  appears.  The  history  of 
war  is  ever  the  same  —  the  exhibition  of  excited  passions,  of  rest- 
less ambition,  of  dazzling  spectacles  of  strife,  pomp,  and  glory. 
Pillage,  oppression,  misery,  crime,  despair,  ruin,  and  death  — 
such  are  the  evils  necessarily  attendant  on  all  war,  even  glorious 
war,  when  men  fight  for  their  homes,  for  their  altars,  or  for  great 
ideas.  The  details  of  war  are  exciting,  but  painful.  We  are 
most  powerfully  reminded  of  our  degeneracy,  of  our  misfortunes, 
of  the  Great  Destroyer.  The  "  Angel  Death  "  appears  before  us, 
in  grim  terrors,  punishing  men  for  crimes.  But  while  war  is  so 
awful,  and  attended  with  all  the  evils  of  which  we  can  conceive, 
or  which  it  is  the  doom  of  man  to  suffer,  yet  warriors  are  not 
necessarily  the  enemies  of  mankind.  They  are  the  instruments 
of  the  Almighty  to  scourge  a  wicked  world,  or  to  bring,  out  of 
disaster  and  suffering,  great  and  permanent  blessings  to  the 
human  race. 

Napoleon  is  contemplated  by  historians  in  both  those  lights. 
The  English  look  upon  him,  generally,  as  an  ambitious  usurper, 
who  aimed  to  erect  a  universal  empire  upon  universal  ruin ;  as  an 
Alexander,  a  Caesar,  an  Attila,  a  Charles  XII.  The  French  nation 
regard  him  almost  as  a  deity,  as  a  messenger  of  good,  as  a  great 


CHAP.  XXXI.]        CHARACTER  OF  NAPOLEON.  497 

conqueror,  who  fought  for  light  and  freedom.  But  he  was  not  the 
worst  or  the  best  of  warriors.  His  extraordinary  and  astonishing 
energies  were  called  into  exercise  by  the  circumstances  of  the 
times ;  and  he,  taking  advantage  of  both  ideas  and  circumstances, 
attempted  to  rear  a  majestic  throne,  and  advance  the  glory  of  the 
country,  of  which  he  made  himself  the  absolute  ruler.  His 
nature  was  not  sanguinary,  or  cruel,  or  revengeful;  but  few  con- 
querors have  ever  committed  crimes  on  a  greater  scale,  or  were 
more  unscrupulous  in  using  any  means,  lawful  or  unlawful,  to 
accomplish  a  great  end.  Napoleon  had  enlightened  views,  and 
wished  to  advance  the  real  interests  of  the  French  nation,  but  not 
until  he  had  climbed  to  the  summit  of  power,  and  realized  all 
those  dreams  which  a  most  inordinate  ambition  had  excited.  He 
doubtless  rescued  his  country  from  the  dangers  which  menaced  it 
from  foreign  invasion  ;  but  his  conquests  and  his  designs  led  to 
still  greater  combinations,  and  these,  demanding  for  their  support 
the  united  energies  of  Christendom,  deluged  the  world  with  blood. 
Napoleon,  to  an  extraordinary  degree,  realized  the  objects  to  which 
he  had  aspired ;  but  these  were  not  long  enjoyed,  and  he  was 
hurled  from  his  throne  of  grandeur  and  of  victory,  to  impress  the 
world,  which  he  mocked  and  despised,  of  the  vanity  of  military 
glory  and  the  dear-earned  trophies  of  the  battle  field.  No  man 
was  ever  permitted  by  Providence  to  accomplish  so  much  mis- 
chief, and  yet  never  mortal  had  more  admirers  than  he,  and  never 
were  the  opinions  of  the  wise  more  divided  in  regard  to  the  effects 
of  his  wars.  A  painful  and  sad  recital  may  be  made  of  the  deso- 
lations he  caused,  so  that  Alaric,  in  comparison,  would  seem  but  a 
common  robber,  while,  at  the  same  time,  a  glorious  eulogium 
might  be  justly  made  of  the  many  benefits  he  conferred  upon 
mankind.  The  good  and  the  evil  are  ever  combined  in  all  great 
characters  ;  but  the  evil  and  the  good  are  combined  in  him  in  such 
vast  proportions,  that  he  seems  either  a  monster  of  iniquity,  or  an 
object  of  endless  admiration.  There  are  some  characters  which 
the  eye  of  the  mind  can  survey  at  once,  as  the  natural  eye  can 
take  in  the  proportions  of  a  small  but  singular  edifice ;  but  Napo- 
leon was  a  genius  and  an  actor  of  such  wonderful  greatness  and 
majesty,  both  from  his  natural  talents  and  the  great  events  which 
he  controlled,  that  he  rises  before  us,  when  we  contemplate  him, 
42*        2H 


m 


498  EARLY   DAYS   OF   NAPOLEON.  [CHAP.  XXXI. 

like  some  vast  pyramid  or  some  majestic  cathedral,  which  the  eye 
can  survey  only  in  details.  Our  age  is  not  sufficiently  removed 
from  the  times  in  which  he  lived,  we  are  too  near  the  object  of 
vision,  to  pronounce  upon  the  general  effect  of  his  character,  and 
only  prejudiced  or  vain  persons  would  attempt  to  do  so.  He  must 
remain  for  generations  simply  an  object  of  awe,  of  wonder,  of 
dread,  of  admiration,  of  hatred,  or  of  love. 

Nor  can  we  condense  the  events  of  his  life  any  more  than  we 
can  analyze  his  character  and  motives.  We  do  not  yet  know 
their  relative  importance.  In  the  progress  of  ages,  some  of  them 
will  stand  out  more  beautiful  and  more  remarkable,  and  some  will 
1)0  entirely  lost  sight  of.  Thousands  of  books  will  waste  away  as 
completely  as  if  they  were  burned,  like  the  Alexandrian  library ; 
and  a  future  age  may  know  no  more  of  the  details  of  Napoleon's 
battles  than  we  now  know  of  Alexander's  marches.  But  the  main 
facts  can  never  be  lost ;  something  will  remain,  enough  to  "  point 
a  moral  or  adorn  a  tale."  The  object  of  all  historical  knowledge 
is  moral  wisdom,  and  this  we  may  learn  from  narratives  as  brief 
as  the  stories  of  Joseph  and  Daniel,  or  the  accounts  which  Tacitus 
has  left  us  of  the  lives  of  the  Roman  tyrants. 

Napoleon  Bonaparte  was  born  in  Corsica,  the  15th  of  August, 
1769,  of  respectable  parents,  and  was  early  sent  to  a  royal  mili- 
tary school  at  Brienne.  He  was  not  distinguished  for  any  attain- 
ments, except  in  mathematics;  he  was  studious,  reserved,  and 
cold ;  he  also  exhibited  an  inflexible  will,  the  great  distinguishing 
quality  of  his  mind.  At  the  age  of  fourteen,  in  view  of  superior 
attainments,  he  was  removed  to  the  military  school  at  Paris,  and, 
at  the  age  of  seventeen,  received  his  commission  as  second  lieuten- 
ant in  a  regiment  of  artillery. 

When  the  Revolution  broke  out,  Toulon,  one  of  the  arsenals  of 
France,  took  a  more  decided  part  in  favor  of  the  king  and  the 
constitution  than  either  Marseilles  or  Lyons,  and  invited  the. 
support  of  the  English  and  Spanish  squadrons.  The  Committee 
of  Public  Safety  resolved  to  subdue  the  city ;  and  Bonaparte,  even 
at  that  time  a  brigadier-general,  with  the  command  of  the  artillery 
at  the  siege,  recommended  a  course  which  led  to  the  capture  of 
that  important  place. 

For  his  distinguished  services  and  talents,  he  was  appointed  sec- 


CHAP.  XXXI.]   EARLY  SERVICES  TO  THE  REPUBLIC.  499 

ond  in  command,  by  the  National  Convention,  when  that  body  was 
threatened  and  overawed, by  the  rebeUious  National  Guard.  He 
saved  the  state  and  defended  the  constitutional  authorities,  for 
which  service  he  was  appointed  second  in  command  of  the  great 
army  of  the  interior,  and  then  general-in-chief  in  the  place  of 
Barras,  who  found  his  new  office  as  director  incompatible  with  the 
duties  of  a  general. 

The  other  directors  who  now  enjoyed  the  supreme  command 
were  Reubel,  Lareveillere-Lepeaux,  Le  Toumeur,  and  Camot. 
Sieyes,  a  man  of  great  genius,  had  been  elected,  but  had  declined. 
Among  these  five  men,  Carnot  was  the  only  man  of  genius,  and 
it  was  through  his  exertions  that  France,  under  the  Committee  of 
Public  Safety,  had  been  saved  from  the  torrent  of  invasion.  But 
Barras,  though  inferior  to  Carnot  in  genius,  had  even  greater  influ- 
ence, and  it  was  through  his  favor  that  Bonaparte  received  his 
appointments.  That  a  young  man  of  twenty-five  should  have  the 
command  of  the  army  of  the  interior,  is  as  remarkable  as  the  vic- 
tories which  subsequently  showed  that  his  elevation  was  not  the 
work  of  chance,  but  of  a  providential  hand. 

The  acknowledged  favorite  of  Barras  was  a  young  widow,  by 
birth  a  Creole  of  the  West  Indies,  whose  husband,  a  general  in 
the  army  of  the  Rhine,  had  been  guillotined  during  the  Reign  of 
Terror.  Her  name  was  Josephine  Beauhamois  ;  and,  as  a  woman 
of  sense,  of  warm  affections,  and  of  rare  accomplishments,  she 
won^  the  heart  of  Bonaparte,  and  was  married  to  him,  March  9, 
1796.  Her  dowry  was  the  command  of  the  army  of  Italy,  which, 
through  her  influence,  the  young  general  received. 

Then  commenced  his  brilliant  military  career.  United  with 
Josephine,  whom  he  loved,  he  rose  in  rank  and  power. 

The  army  which  Bonaparte  commanded  was  composed  of  forty- 
two  thousand  men,  while  the  forces  of  the  Italian  states  numbered 
one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand,  and  could  with  ease  be  increased 
to  three  hundred  thousand.  But  Italian  soldiers  had  never  been 
able  to  contend  with  either  Austrian  or  French,  and  Bonaparte  felt 
sure  of  victory.  His  soldiers  were  young  men,  inured  to  danger 
and  toil ;  and  among  his  officers  were  Berthier,  Massena,  Marmont, 
Augereau,  Serrurier,  Joubert,  Lannes,  and  Murat.  They  were  not 
then  all  geuerals,  but  they  became  afterwards  marshals  of  France. 


500  THE   ITALIAN   CAMPAIGN.  [cHAP.  ZXXI. 

The  campaign  of  1796,  in  Italy,  was  successful  beyond  prece- 
dent in  the  history  of  war ;  and  the  battles  of  Montenotte,  Millesi- 
mo,  and  Dcgo,  the  passage  of  the  bridge  of  Lodi,  the  siege  of 
Mantua,  and  the  victories  at  Castiglione,  Caldiero,  Areola,  Rivoli, 
and  Mantua,  extended  the  fame  of  Bonaparte  throughout  the  world. 
The  Austrian  armies  were  every  where  defeated,  and  Italy  was 
subjected  to  the  rule  of  the  French.  "  With  the  French  invasion 
commenced  tyranny  under  the  name  of  liberty,  rapine  Under  the 
name  of  generosity,  the  stripping  of  churches,  the  robbing  of  hos- 
pitals, the  levelling  of  the  palaces  of  the  great,  and  the  destruction 
of  the  cottages  of  the  poor ;  all  that  military  license  has  of  most 
terrible,  all  that  despotic  authority  has  of  most  oppressive." 

While  Bonaparte  was  subduing  Italy,  the  French  under  Moreau 
were  contending,  on  the  Rhine,  with  the  Austrians  under  the  Arch- 
duke Charles.  Several  great  battles  were  fought,  and  masterly 
retreats  were  made,  but  without  decisive  results. 

It  is  surprising  that  England,  France,  and  the  other  contending 
powers,  were  able  at  this  time  to  commence  the  contest,  much 
more  so  to  continue  it  for  more  than  twenty  years.  The  French 
Directory,  on  its  accession  to  power,  found  the  finances  in  a  state  of 
inextricable  confusion.  Assignats  had  fallen  to  almost  nothing,  and 
taxes  were  collected  with  such  difficulty,  that  there  were  arrears  to 
the  amount  of  fifteen  hundred  millions  of  francs.  The  armies  were 
destitute  and  ill  paid,  the  artillery  without  horses, and  the  infantry  de- 
pressed by  suflfering  and  defeat.  In  England,  the  government  of  Pitt 
was  violently  assailed  for  carrying  on  a  war  against  a  country  which 
sought  simply  to  revolutionize  her  own  institutions,  and  which  all 
the  armies  of  Europe  had  thus  far  failed  to  subdue.  Mr.  Fox, 
and  others  in  the  opposition,  urged  the  folly  of  continuing  a  con- 
test which  had  already  added  one  hundred  millions  of  pounds  to 
the  national  debt,  and  at  a  time  when  French  armies  were  prepar- 
ing to  invade  Italy  ;  but  Pitt  argued  that  the  French  must  be  nearly 
exhausted  by  their  great  exertions,  and  would  soon  be  unable  to  con 
tinue  the  warfare.  The  nation,  generally,  took  this  latter  view  of 
the  case,  and  parliament  voted  immense  supplies. 

The  year  1797  opened  gloomily  for  England.  The  French  had 
gained  immense  successes.  Bonaparte  had  subdued  Italy,  Hoche 
had  suppressed  the  rebellion  in  La  Vendee,  Austria  was  preparing 


CHAP.  XXXI.]        BATTLE  OF  ST.  VINCENT.  501 

1o  defend  her  last  barriers  in  the  passes  of  the  Alps,  Holland  was 
virtually  incorporated  with  Republican  France,  Spain  had  also 
joined  its  forces,  and  the  whole  continent  was  arrayed  against 
Great  Britain.  England  had  interfered  in  a  contest  in  which  she 
was  not  concerned,  and  was  forced  to  reap  the  penalty.  The 
funds  fell  from  ninety-eight  to  fifty-one,  and  petitions  for  a  change 
of  ministers  were  sent  to  the  king  from  almost  every  city  of  note 
in  the  kingdom.  The  Bank  of  England  stopped  payment  in 
specie,  and  the  country  was  overburdened  by  taxation.  Never- 
theless, parliament  voted  new  supplies,  and  made  immense  prepa- 
rations, especially  for  the  increase  of  the  navy.  One  hundred  and 
twenty-four  ships  of  the  line,  one  hundred  and  eighty  frigates,  and 
one  hundred  and  eighty-four  sloops,  were  put  in  commission,  and 
sent  to  the  various  quarters  of  the  globe. 

Soon  after  occurred  the  memorable  mutiny  in  the  English  fleet, 
which  produced  the  utmost  alarm  ;  but  it  was  finally  suppressed 
by  the  vigorous  measures  which  the  government  adopted,  and  the 
happy  union  of  firmness  and  humanity,  justice  and  concession, 
which  Mr.  Pitt  exercised.  The  mutiny  was  entirely  disconnected 
with  France,  and  resulted  from  the  real  grievances  which  existed 
in  the  navy ;  grievances  which,  to  the  glory  of  Pitt,  were  candidly 
considered  and  promptly  redressed.  The  temporary  disgrace 
which  resulted  to  the  navy  by  this  mutiny  was  soon,  however, 
wiped  away  by  the  battle  of  Cape  St.  Vincent,  in  which  Admiral 
Jervis,  seconded  by  Nelson  and  Collingwood,  with  fifteen  ships  of 
the  line  and  six  frigates,  defeated  a  Spanish  fleet  of  twenty-seven 
ships  of  the  line  and  twelve  frigates.  This  important  naval  vic- 
tory delivered  England  from  all  fears  of  invasion,  and  inspired 
courage  into  the  hearts  of  the  nation,  groaning  under  the  heavy 
taxes  which  the  war  increased.  Before  the  season  closed,  the 
Dutch  fleet,  of  fifteen  ships  of  the  line  and  eleven  frigates,  was 
defeated  by  an  English  one,  under  Admiral  Duncan,  consisting  of 
sixteen  ships  of  the  line  and  three  frigates.  The  battles  of  Camper- 
down  and  Cape  St.  Vincent,  in  which  the  genius  of  Duncan  and 
Nelson  were  signally  exhibited,  were  among  the  most  important 
fought  at  sea  during  the  war,  and  diffused  unexampled  joy  through- 
out Great  Britain.  The  victors  were  all  rewarded.  Jervis  became 
Earl  St.  Vincent,  Admiral  Duncan  became  a  viscount,  and  Commo- 


502  CONQUEST    OF    VENICE    BY    NAPOLEON.      [cHAP.  XXXI. 

dfore  Nelson  became  a  baronet.  Soon  after  the  bonfires  and 
illuminations  for  these  victories  were  ended,  Mr.  Burke  died ; 
urging,  as  his  end  approached,  the  ministry  to  persevere  in  the 
great  struggle  to  which  the  nation  was  committed. 

While  the  English  were  victorious  on  the  water,  the  French 
obtained  new  triumphs  on  the  land.  In  twenty  days  after  the 
opening  of  the  campaign  of  1797,  Bonaparte  had  driven  the  Arch- 
duke Charles,  with  an  army  equal  to  his  own,  over  the  Julian 
Alps,  and  occupied  Carniola,  Carinthia,  Trieste,  Fiume,  and  the 
Italian  Tyrol,  while  a  force  of  forty-five  thousand  men,  flushed 
with  victory,  was  on  the  northern  declivity  of  the  Alps,  within 
fifty  leagues  of  Vienna.  In  the  midst  of  these  successes,  an  insur- 
rection broke  out  in  the  Venetian  territories ;  and,  as  Bonaparte 
was  not  supported,  as  he  expected,  by  the  armies  of  the  Rhine, 
and  partly  in  consequence  of  the  jealousy  of  the  Directory,  he 
resolved  to  forego  all  thoughts  of  dictating  peace  under  the  walls 
of  Vienna,  and  contented  himself  with  making  as  advantageous 
terms  as  possible  with  the  Austrian  government.  Bonaparte 
accomplished  his  object,  and  directed  his  attention  to  the  subju- 
gatfbn  of  Venice,  no  longer  the  "  Queen  of  the  Adriatic,  throned 
on  her  hundred  isles,"  but  degenerate,  weakened,  and  divided. 
Bonaparte  acted,  in  his  treaty  with  Austria,  with  great  injustice  to 
Venice,  and  also  encouraged  the  insurrection  of  the  people  in  her 
territories.  And  when  the  Venetian  government  attempted  to 
suppress  rebellion  in  its  own  provinces,  Bonaparte  affected  great 
indignation,  and  soon  found  means  to  break  off  all  negotiations. 
The  Venetian  senate  made  every  effort  to  avert  the  storm,  but  in 
vain.  Bonaparte  declared  war  against  Venice,  and  her  fall  soon 
after  resulted.  The  French  seized  all  the  treasure  they  could  find, 
and  obliged  the  ruined  capital  to  furnish  heavy  contributions,  and 
surrender  its  choicest  works  of  art.  Soon  after,  the  youthful  con- 
queror established  himself  in  the  beautiful  chateau  of  Montebello, 
near  Milan,  and  there  dictated  peace  to  the  assembled  ambassa- 
dors of  GJermany,  Rome,  Genoa,  Venice,  Naples,  Piedmont,  and 
the  Swiss  republic.  The  treaty  of  Campo  Formio  exhibited  both 
the  strength  and  the  perfidy  of  Bonaparte,  especially  in  reference 
to  Venice,  which  was  disgracefully  despoiled  to  pay  the  expenses 
of  the  Italian   wars.     Among  other  things,  the  splendid  bronze 


CHAP,  XXXI.]  INVASION  OF  EGYPT.  503 

horses,  which,  for  six  hundred  years,  had  stood  over  the  portico  of 
the  church  of  St.  Mark,  to  commemorate  the  capture  of  Constan- 
tinople by  the  Venetian  crusaders,  and  which  had  originally  been 
brought  from  Corinth  to  Rome  by  ancient  conquerors,  were 
removed  to  Paris  to  decorate  the  Tuileries. 

Bonaparte's  journey  from  Italy  to  Paris,  after  Venice,  with  its 
beautiful  provinces,  was  surrendered  to  Austria,  was  a  triumphal 
procession.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  Parisians  was  boundless ;  the 
public  curiosity  to  see  him  indescribable.  But  he  lived  in  a  quiet 
manner,  and  assumed  the  dress  of  a  member  of  the  Institute,  being 
lately  elected.  Great  fetes  were  given  to  his  honor,  and  his 
victories  were  magnified. 

But  he  was  not  content  with  repose  or  adulation.  His  ambitious 
soul  panted  for  new  conquests,  and  he  conceived  the  scheme  of 
his  Egyptian  invasion,  veiled  indeed  from  the  eyes  of  the  world 
by  a  pretended  attack  on  England  herself.  He  was  invested, 
with  great  pomp,  by  the  Directory,  with  the  command  of  the  army 
of  England,  but  easily  induced  the  government  to  sanction  the 
invasion  of  Egypt.  It  is  not  probable  that  Bonaparte  seriously 
contemplated  the  conquest  of  England,  knowing  the  difficulty  of 
supporting  and  recruiting  his  army,  even  if  he  succeeded  in  land- 
ing his  forces.  He  probably  designed  to  divert  the  attention  of  the 
English  from  his  projected  enterprise. 

When  all  was  ready,  Bonaparte  (9th  May)  embarked  at  Toulon 
in  a  fleet  of  thirteen  ships  of  the  line,  fourteen  frigates,  seventy- 
two  brigs,  and  four  hundred  transports,  containing  thirty-six  thou- 
sand soldiers  and  ten  thousand  sailors.  He  was  joined  by 
reenforcements  at  Genoa,  Ajaccio,  Civita  Castellana,  and  on  the 
10th  of  June  arrived  at  Malta,  which  capitulated  without  firing  a 
shot;  proceeded  on  his  voyage,  succeeded  in  escaping  the  squadron 
of  Nelson,  and  on  the  1st  of  July  reached  Alexandria.  He  was 
vigorously  opposed  by  the  Mamelukes,  who  were  the  actual  rulers 
of  the  country,  but  advanced  in  spite  of  them  to  Cairo,  and  marched 
along  the  banks  of  the  Nile.  Near  the  Pyramids,  a  great  battle 
took  place,  and  the  Mamelukes  were  signally  defeated,  and  the  fate 
of  Egypt  was  sealed. 

But  Nelson  got  intelligence  of  Bonaparte's  movements,  and 
resolved  to  "  gain  a  peerage,  or  a  grave  in  Westminster  Abbey." 


504  SIEGE    OF    ACRE.  [cHAP.  XXXI. 

Then  succeeded  the  battle  of  the  Nile,  and  the  victory  of  Nelson , 
one  of  the  most  brilliant  but  bloody  actions  in  the  history  of  naval 
warfare.  Nelson  was  wounded,  but  gained  a  peerage  and  magnifi- 
cent presents.  The  battle  was  a  mortal  stroke  to  the  French 
army,  and  made  the  conquest  of  Egypt  useless.  Bonaparte  found 
liis  army  exiled,  and  himself  destined  to  hopeless  struggles  with 
Oriental  powers.  But  he  made  gigantic  efforts,  in  order  to 
secure  the  means  of  support,  to  prosecute  scientific  researches, 
and  to  complete  the  conquest  of  the  country.  He  crossed  the 
desert  which  separates  Africa  from  Asia,  with  his  army,  which 
did  not  exceed  sixteen  thousand  men,  invaded  Syria,  stormed 
•laffa,  massacred  its  garrison,  since  he  could  not  afford  to  support 
the  prisoners,  —  a  most  barbarous  measure,  and  not  to  be  excused 
even  in  view  of  the  policy  of  the  act, — and  then  advanced  to 
Acre.  Its  memorable  siege  in  the  time  of  the  Crusades  should 
have  deterred  Bonaparte  from  the  attempt  to  subdue  it  with  his 
little  army  in  the  midst  of  a  hostile  population.  But  he  made  the 
attack.  The  fortress,  succored  by  Sir  Sidney  Smith,  successfully 
resisted  the  impetuosity  of  his  troops,  and  they  were  compelled  to 
retire  with  the  loss  of  three  thousand  men.  His  discomfited  army 
retreated  to  Egypt,  and  suffered  all  the  accumulated  miseries 
ivhich  fatigue,  heat,  thirst,  plague,  and  famine  could  inflict 
fie,  however,  amidst  all  these  calamities,  added  to  discontents 
imong  the  troops,  won  the  great  battle  of  Aboukir,  and  immedi- 
itely  after,  leaving  the  army  under  the  command  of  Kleber, 
•etumed  to  Alexandria,  and  secretly  set  sail  for  France,  accom- 
panied by  Berthier,  Lannes,  Murat,  Marmont,  and  other  generals. 
He  succeeded  in  escaping  the  English  cruisers,  and,  on  the  8th 
of  October,  1799,  landed  in  France. 

Bonaparte,  had  he  not  been  arrested  at  Acre  by  Sir  Sidney 
Smith,  probably  would  have  conquered  Asia  Minor,  and  established 
an  Oriental  empire  ;  but  such  a  conquest  would  not  have  been 
permanent.  More  brilliant  victories  were  in  reserve  for  him  than 
conquering  troops  of  half-civilized  Turks  and  Arabs. 

During  the  absence  of  Bonaparte  in  Egypt,  the  French  Direc- 
tory became  unpopular,  and  the  national  finances  more  embar- 
rassed than  ever.  But  Switzerland  was  invaded  and  conquered ; 
an  outrage  which  showed  the  ambitious  designs  of  the  government 


CHAP.  XXXI.]       REVERSES  OF  THE  FRENCH.  505 

more  than  any  previous  attack  which  it  had  made  on  the  Uberties 
of  Europe.  The  Papal  States  were  next  seized,  the  venerable 
pontiff  was  subjected  to  cruel  indignities,  and  the  treasures  and 
monuments  of  Rome  were  again  despoiled.  "  The  Vatican  was 
stripped  to  its  naked  walls,  and  the  immortal  frescoes  of  Raphael 
and  Michael  Angelo  alone  remained  in  solitary  beauty  amidst  the 
general  desolation."  The  King  of  Sardinia  was  driven  from  his 
dominions,  and  Naples  yielded  to  the  tricolored  flag.  Immense 
military  contributions  were  levied  in  all  these  unfortunate  states, 
and  all  that  was  beautiful  in  art  was  transported  to  Paris. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  spirits  of  the  English  were  revived  by  the 
victories  of  Nelson,  and  greater  preparations  than  ever  were  made 
to  resist  the  general,  who  now  plainly  aimed  at  the  conquest  of 
Europe.  England,  Austria,  and  Russia  combined  against  France, 
and  her  armies  met  with  reverses  in  Italy  and  on  the  Rhine.  Su- 
warrow,  with  a  large  army  of  Russians  united  with  Austrians, 
gained  considerable  success,  and  General  Moreau  was  obliged  to 
retreat  before  him.  Serrurier  surrendered  with  seven  thousand 
men,  and  Suwarrow  entered  Milan  in  triumph,  with  sixty  thousand 
troops.  Turin  shared  the  fate  of  Milan,  and  Piedmont  and  Lom- 
bardy  were  overrun  by  the  allies.  The  republicans  were  expelled 
from  Naples.  Mantua  fell,  and  Suwarrow  marched  with  his  con- 
quering legions  inio  Switzerland. 

These  disasters  happened  while  Bonaparte  was  in  Egypt ;  and 
his  return  to  France  was  hailed  with  universal  joy.  His  victories 
in  Egypt  had  prepared  the  way  for  a  most  enthusiastic  reception, 
and  for  his  assumption  of  the  sovereign  power.  All  the  generals 
then  in  Paris  paid  their  court  to  him,  and  his  saloon,  in  his  humble 
dwelling  in  the  Rue  Chantereine,  resembled  the  court  of  a  mon- 
arch. Lannes,  Murat,  Berthier,  Jourdan,  Augereau,  Macdonald, 
Bournonville,  Leclerc,  Lefebvre,  and  Marm on t,  afterwards  so  illus- 
trious as  the  marshals  of  the  emperor,  offered  him  the  military 
dictatorship,  while  Sieyes,  Talleyrand,  and  Regnier,  the  great 
civil  leaders,  concurred  to  place  him  at  the  head  of  affairs.  He 
himself  withdrew  from  the  gaze  of  the  people,  affected  great 
simplicity,  and  associated  chiefly  with  men  distinguished  for 
literary  and  scientific  attainments.  But  he  secretly  intrigued  with 
Sieyes  and  with  his  generals.  Three  of  the  Directory  sent  in 
43 


506  NAPOLEON   FIRST   CONSUL.  [cHAF.  XXXI. 

their  resignations,  and  Napoleon  assumed  the  reins  of  government, 
under  the  title  of  First  Consul^  and  was  associated  with  Sieyes 
and  Roger  Ducos.  The  legislative  branches  of  the  government 
resisted,  but  the  Council  of  Five  Hundred  was  powerless  before 
the  bayonets  of  the  military.  A  new  revolution  was  effected,  and 
despotic  power  in  the  hands  of  a  military  chieftain  commenced. 
He,  however,  signalized  himself  by  the  clemency  he  showed  in 
the  moment  of  victory,  and  the  principles  of  humanity,  even  in 
the  government  of  a  military  despot,  triumphed  over  the  principles 
of  cruelty.  Bonaparte  chose  able  men  to  assist  him  in  the  govern- 
ment Talleyrand  was  made  minister  of  foreign  affairs.  Fouche 
retained  his  portfolio  of  police,  and  the  celebrated  La  Place  was 
made  minister  of  the  interior.  On  the  24th  of  December,  1799, 
the  new  constitution  was  proclaimed  ;  and,  shortly  after,  Sieyes 
and  Roger  Ducos  withdrew  from  the  consulate,  and  gave  place  to 
Cambaceres  and  Lebrun,  who  were  in  the  interests  of  Napoleon. 

The  first  step  of  the  first  consul  was  to  offer  peace  to  Great 
Britain ;  and  he  wrote  a  letter  to  the  king,  couched  in  his  peculiar 
style  of  mock  philanthropy  and  benevolence,  in  which  he  spoke  of 
peace  as  the  first  necessity  and  truest  glory  of  nations!  Lord 
Grenville,  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  replied  in  a  long  letter,  in 
which  he  laid  upon  France  the  blame  of  the  war,  in  consequence 
of  her  revolutionary  principles  and  aggressive  spirit,  and  refused 
to  make  peace  while  the  causes  of  difficulty  remained ;  in  other 
words,  until  the  Bourbon  dynasty  was  restored.  The  Commons 
supported  the  government  by  a  large  majority,  and  all  parties 
prepared  for  a  still  more  desperate  conflict.  Napoleon  was  obliged 
to  fight,  and  probably  desired  to  fight,  feeling  that  his  power  and 
the  greatness  of  his  country  would  depend  upon  the  victories  he 
might  gain;  that  so  long  as  the  eclat  of  his  government  con- 
tinued, his  government  would  be  strong.  Mr.  Pitt  was  probably 
right  in  his  opinion  that  no  peace  could  be  lasting  with  a  revolu- 
tionary power,  and  that  every  successive  peace  would  only  pave 
the  way  for  fresh  aggressions.  Bonaparte  could  only  fulfil  what  he 
called  his  destiny,  by  continual  agitation  ;  and  this  was  well  under- 
stood by  himself  and  by  his  enemies.  The  contest  had  become 
one  of  life  and  death;  and  both  parties  resolved  that  no  peace 
should  be  made  until  one  or  the  other  was  effectually  conquered. 


\ 


CHAP.  XXXI.]        IMMENSE    MILITARY   PREPARATIONS.  507 

The  land  forces  of  Great  Britain,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
year  1800,  amounted  to  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  thousand 
men,  exclusive  of  eighty  thousand  militia,  while  one  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  seamen  and  marines  were  voted.  The  ships  in 
commission  were  no  less  than  five  hundred,  including  one  hundred 
and  twenty-four  of  the  line.  The  charter  of  the  Bank  of  England 
was  renewed,  and  the  union  with  Ireland  effected.  The  various 
German  states  made  still  greater  exertions,  and  agreed  to  raise  a 
contingent  force  of  three  hundred  thousand  men.  They  were 
greatly  assisted  in  this  measure  by  subsidies  from  Great  Britain. 
Austria,  alone,  had  in  the  field  at  this  time  a  force  of  two  hundred 
thousand  men,  half  of  whom  belonged  to  the  army  of  Italy  under 
Melas. 

To  make  head  against  the  united  forces  of  England  and  Austria, 
with  a  defeated  army,  an  exhausted  treasury,  and  a  disunited 
people,  was  the  difficult  task  of  Bonaparte.  His  first  object  was 
to  improve  the  finances ;  his  second,  to  tranquillize  La  Vendee ; 
his  third,  to  detach  Russia  from  the  allies ;  his  fourth,  to  raise 
armies  equal  to  the  crisis ;  and  all  these  measures  he  rapidly 
accomplished.  One  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men  were 
raised  by  conscription,  without  any  exemption  from  either  rank  or 
fortune,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  were  ready  to 
commence  hostilities.  The  first  consul  suppressed  the  liberty  of 
the  press,  fixed  his  residence  in  the  Tuileries,  and  established  the 
usages  and  ceremonial  of  a  court.  He  revoked  the  sentence  of 
banishment  on  illustrious  individuals,  established  a  secret  police, 
and  constructed  the  gallery  of  the  Louvre. 

Hostilities  commenced  in  Germany,  and  General  Moreau  was 
successful  over  General  Kray  at  the  battles  of  Engen,  Moes- 
kirch,  and  Biberach.  General  Massena  fought  with  great  cour- 
age in  the  Maritime  Alps,  but  was  obliged  to  retreat  before 
superior  forces,  and  shut  himself  up  in  Genoa,  which  endured 
a  dreadful  siege,  but  was  finally  compelled  to  surrender.  The 
victor,  Melas,  then  set  out  to  meet  Bonaparte  himself,  who  was 
invading  Italy,  and  had  just  effected  his  wonderful  passage  over 
the  Alps  by  the  Great  St.  Bernard,  one  of  the  most  wonderful 
feats  in  the  annals  of  war ;  for  his  artillery  and  baggage  had  to  be 
transported  over  one  of  the  highest  and  most  difficult  passes  of  the 


508  THE  REFORMS  OF  NAPOLEON.      [cHAP.  XXXI. 

Alps.  The  passes  of  the  St.  Gothard  and  Mount  Cenis  were  also 
effected  by  the  wings  of  the  army.  The  first  action  was  at  Monte- 
bello,  which  ended  in  favor  of  the  French ;  and  this  was  soon 
followed  by  a  decisive  and  brilliant  victory  at  Marengo,  (June  14,) 
one  of  the  most  obstinately  contested  during  the  war,  and  which 
was  attended  with  greater  results  than  perhaps  any  battle  that  had 
yet  occurred  in  modern  warfare.  Moreau  also  gained  a  great 
victory  over  the  Austrians  at  Hohenlinden,  and  Macdonald  per- 
formed great  exploits  amid  the  mountains  of  the  Italian  Tyrol. 
The  treaty  of  Luneville,  (February  9,  1801,)  in  consequence  of 
the  victorious  career  of  Bonaparte,  ceded  to  France  the  possession 
of  Belgium,  and  the  whole  left  bank  of  the  Rhine.  Lombardy  was 
erected  into  an  independent  state,  Venice  was  restored  to  Austria, 
and  the  independence  of  the  Batavian,  Helvetic,  Cisalpine,  and  Ligu- 
rian  republics  was  guaranteed.  This  peace  excited  unbounded  joy 
at  Paris,  and  was  the  first  considerable  pause  in  the  continental  strife. 
Napoleon  returned  to  his  capital  to  reconstruct  society,  which  was 
entirely  disorganized.  It  was  his  object  to  restore  the  institutions 
of  religion,  law,  commerce,  and  education.  He  did  not  attempt 
to  give  constitutional  freedom.  This  was  impracticable ;  but  he 
did  desire  to  bring  order  out  of  confusion.  One  night,  going  to 
the  theatre,  he  narrowly  escaped  death  by  the  explosion  of  an 
**  infernal  machine."  He  attributed  the  design  of  assassination  to 
the  Jacobins,  and  forthwith  transported  one  hundred  and  thirty  of 
them,  more  as  a  statesman  than  as  a  judge.  He  was  determined  to 
break  up  that  obnoxious  party,  and  the  design  against  his  life 
furnished  the  pretence.  Shortly  after,  he  instituted  the  Legion 
of  Honor,  an  order  of  merit  which  was  designed  to  restore 
gradually  the  gradation  in  the  ranks  of  society.  He  was  violently 
opposed,  but  he  carried  his  measures  through  the  Council  of  State  ; 
and  this  institution,  which  at  length  numbered  two  thousand  per- 
sons, civil  and  military,  became  both  popular  and  useful.  He 
then  restored  the  external  institution  of  religion,  and  ten  arch- 
bishops and  fifty  bishops  admuiistered  the  affairs  of  the  Gallican 
Church.  The  restoration  of  the  Sunday,  with  its  customary 
observances,  was  hailed  by  the  peasantry  with  undisguised  delight, 
and  was  a  pleasing  sight  to  the  nations  of  Europe.  He  then  con- 
templated the  complete  restoration  of  all  the  unalienated  national 


CHAP.  XXXI.]  THE  CODE  NAPOLEON.  509 

property  to  the  original  proprietors,  but  was  forced  to  abandon  the 
design.  A  general  amnesty  was  also  proclaimed  to  emigrants, 
by  which  one  hundred  thousand  people  returned,  not  to  enjoy  their 
possessions,  but  to  recover  a  part  of  them,  and  breathe  the  air  of 
their  native  land.  At  last,  he  resolved  to  make  himself  first 
consul  for  life,  and  seat  his  family  on  a  monarchical  throne.  He 
was  opposed  by  the  Council  of  State  ;  but  he  appealed  to  the  peo- 
ple, and  three  million  three  hundred  and  sixty-eight  thousand  two 
hundred  and  nine,  out  of  three  million  five  hundred  and  fifty-seven 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighty-five  electors,  voted  for  his 
elevation. 

The  "  Code  Napoleon  "  then  occupied  his  attention,  indisputably 
the  greatest  monument  of  his  reign,  and  the  most  beneficial  event 
of  his  age.  All  classes  and  parties  have  praised  the  wisdom  of 
this  great  compilation,  which  produced  more  salutary  changes 
than  had  been  effected  by  all  the  early  revolutionists.  Amid  these 
great  undertakings  of  the  consul,  the  internal  prosperity  of  France 
was  constantly  increasing,  and  education,  art,  and  science  received 
an  immense  impulse.  Every  thing  seemed  to  smile  upon  Bona- 
parte, and  all  appeared  reconciled  to  the  great  power  which  he 
exercised. 

But  there  were  some  of  his  generals  who  were  attached  to 
republican  principles,  and  viewed  with  ill-suppressed  jealousy  the 
rapid  strides  he  was  making  to  imperial  power.  Moreau,  the 
victor  at  Hohenlinden,  was  at  the  head  of  these,  and,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Fouche,  who  had  been  turned  out  of  his  ofiice  on  account 
of  the  immense  power  which  it  gave  him,  formed  a  conspiracy 
of  republicans  and  royalists  to  overturn  the  consular  throne.  But 
Fouche  revealed  the  plot  to  Bonaparte,  who  restored  him  to  power, 
and  Generals  Moreau  and  Pichegru,  the  Duke  d'Enghien,  and 
other  illustrious  persons  were  arrested.  The  duke  himself  was 
innocent  of  the  conspiracy,  but  was  sacrificed  to  the  jealousy  of 
Bonaparte,  who  wished  to  remove  from  the  eyes  of  the  people 
this  illustrious  scion  of  the  Bourbon  family,  the  only  member  of  it 
he  feared.  This  act  was  one  of  the  most  cruel  and  unjustifiable, 
and  therefore  impolitic,  which  Bonaparte  ever  committed.  "  It  was 
worse  than  a  crime,"  said  Talleyrand ;  "  it  was  a  blunder."  His 
murder  again  lighted  the  flames  of  continental  war,  and  from  it 
43* 


51d  MEDITATED   INVASION    OF    ENGLAND.        [cHAP.  XXXI. 

may  be  dated  the  commencement  of  that  train  of  events  which 
ultimately  hurled  Napoleon  from  the  imperial  throne. 

That  possession  was  what  his  heart  now  coveted,  and  he  there- 
fore seized  what  he  desired,  and  what  he  had  power  to  retain. 
On  the  18th  of  May,  1804,  Napoleon  was  declared  Emperor  of 
the  French,  and  an  overwhelming  majority  of  the  electoral  votes 
of  France  confirmed  him  in  his  usurpation  of  the  throne  of  Hugh 
Capet 

His  first  step,  as  emperor,  was  the  creation  of  eighteen  mar- 
shals, all  memorable  in  the  annals  of  military  glory  —  Berthier, 
Murat,  Moncey,  Jourdan,  Massena,  Augereau,  Bemadotte,  Soult, 
Brune,  Lannes,  Mortier,  Ney,  Davoust,  Bessieres,  Kellermann, 
Lefebvre,  Perignon,  and  Serrurier.  The  individual  lives  of  these  ^ 
military  heroes  cannot  here  be  alluded  to. 

Early  in  the  year  1805,  the  great  powers  of  England,  Austria, 
and  Russia  entered  into  a  coalition  to  reduce  France  to  its  ancient 
limits,  and  humble  the  despot  who  had  usurped  the  throne.  Enor- 
mous preparations  were  made  by  all  the  belligerent  states,  and 
four  hundred  thousand  men  were  furnished  by  the  allies  for  active 
service ;  a  force  not,  however,  much  larger  than  Napoleon  raised 
to  prosecute  his  scheme  of  universal  dominion. 

Among  other  designs,  he  meditated  the  invasion  of  England 
itself,  and  assembled  for  that  purpose  one  of  the  most  splendid 
armies  which  had  been  collected  since  the  days  of  the  Roman 
legions.  It  amounted  to  one  hundred  and  fourteen  thousand  men, 
four  hundred  and  thirty-two  pieces  of  cannon,  and  fourteen  thou- 
sand six  hundred  and  fifty-four  horses.  Ample  transports  were 
provided  to  convey  this  immense  army  to  the  shores  of  England. 
But  the  English  government  took  corresponding  means  of  defence, 
having  fathomed  the  designs  of  the  enemy,  who  had  succeeded 
in  securing  the  cooperation  of  Spain.  This  great  design  of  Napo- 
leon was  defeated  by  the  vigilance  of  the  English,  and  the  number 
of  British  ships  which  defended  the  coasts  —  the  "  wooden  walls  " 
which  preserved  England  from  a  most  imminent  and  dreaded 
danger. 

Frustrated  in  the  attempt  to  invade  Great  Britain,  Napoleon 
instantly  conceived  the  plan  of  the  campaign  of  Austerlitz,  and 
without  delay  gave  orders  for  the  march  of  his  difierent  armies  to 


I 


HHAP.  XXXI.]         BATTLE  OF  AUSTERLITZ.  511 

ihe  banks  of  the  Danube.  The  army  of  England  on  the  shores 
of  the  Channel,  the  forces  in  Holland,  and  the  troops  in  Hanover 
were  formed  into  seven  corps,  under  the  command  of  as  many 
marshals,  comprising  altogether  one  hundred  and  ninety  thousand 
men,  while  the  troops  of  his  allies  in  Italy  and  Germany  amounted 
to  nearly  seventy  thousand  more.  Eighty  thousand  new  con- 
scripts were  also  raised,  and  all  of  these  were  designed  for  the 
approaching  conflict  with  the  Austrians. 

But  before  the  different  armies  could  meet  together  in  Germany, 
Nelson  had  gained  the  great  and  ever-memorable  victory  of  Traf- 
algar, (October  23,)  on  the  coast  of  Spain,  by  which  the  naval 
power  of  France  and  Spain  was  so  crippled  and  weakened,  that 
England  remained,  during  the  continuance  of  the  war,  sovereign 
mistress  of  the  ocean.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  transports  of 
exultation  which  pervaded  the  British  empire  on  the  news  of  this 
great  naval  victory  —  perhaps  the  greatest  in  the  annals  of  war. 
And  all  that  national  gratitude  could  prompt  was  done  in  honor 
of  Nelson.  The  remains  of  the  fallen  victor  were '  buried  in  St. 
Paul's  Cathedral,  over  which  a  magnificent  monument  was  erected. 
His  brother,  who  inherited  his  title,  was  made  an  earl,  with  a  grant 
of  six  thousand  pounds  a  year,  and  an  estate  worth  one  hundred 
thousand  pounds.  Admiral  Collingwood,  the  second  in  command, 
was  raised  to  the  peerage,  with  a  grant  of  two  thousand  pounds 
yearly.  But  the  thoughts  of  the  nation  were  directed  to  the 
departed  hero,  and  countless  and  weeping  multitudes  followed  him 
to  the  grave  ;  and  his  memory  has  ever  since  been  consecrated  in 
the  hearts  of  his  countrymen,  who  regard  him,  and  with  justice, 
as  the  greatest  naval  commander  whom  any  nation  or  age  has 
produced. 

Early  in  October,  the  forces  of  Napoleon  were  marshalled 
on  the  plains  of  Germany,  and  the  Austrians,  under  the  Arch- 
duke Charles,  acted  on  the  defensive.  Napoleon  advanced 
rapidly  on  Vienna,  seized  the  bridge  which  led  from  it  to  the 
northern  provinces  of  the  empire,  passed  through  the  city,  and 
established  his  head-quarters  at  Schoenbrunn.  On  the  1st  of 
December  was  fought  the  celebrated  battle  of  Austerlitz,  the  most 
glorious  of  all  Napoleon's  battles,  and  in  which  his  military  genius 
shone  with  the  greatest  lustre,  and  which  decided  the  campaign. 


512  BATTLE    OF   JENA.  [ciIAP.  XXXI. 

Negotiations  with  Austria,  dictated  by  the  irresistible  power  of 
the  French  emperor,  were  soon  concluded  at  Presburg,  (27th 
December,)  by  which  that  ancient  state  was  completely  humbled. 
The  dethronement  of  the  King  of  Naples  followed,  and  the  power 
of  Napoleon  was  consolidated  on  the  continent  of  Europe. 

The  defeat  of  Austerlitz  was  a  great  blow  to  the  allied  powers, 
and  the  health  and  spirits  of  Pitt  sunk  under  the  disastrous  intel 
ligence.  A  devouring  fever  seized  his  brain,  and  delirium 
quenched  the  fire  of  his  genius.  He  died  on  the  23d  of  January, 
1806,  at  the  age  of  forty-seven,  with  the  exclamation,  "  Alas, 
my  country  !  "  after  having  nobly  guided  the  British  bark  in  the 
most  stormy  times  his  nation  had  witnessed  since  the  age  of 
Cromwell.  He  was  buried  with  great  pomp  in  Westminster  Ab- 
bey, and  died  in  debt,  after  having  the  control,  for  so  many  years, 
of  the  treasury  of  England.  Mr.  Fox  did  not  long  survive  his 
more  illustrious  rival,  but  departed  from  the  scene  of  conflict  and 
of  glory  the  13th  of  September. 

The  humiliation  of  Prussia  succeeded  that  of  Austria.  The 
battle  of  Jena,  the  14th  of  October,  prostrated,  in  a  single  day,  the 
strength  of  the  Prussian  monarchy,  and  did  what  the  united  armies 
of  Austria,  Russia,  and  France  could  not  accomplish  by  the 
Seven  Years'  War.  Napoleon  followed  up  his  victories  by  bold 
and  decisive  measures,  invested  Magdeburg,  which  was  soon  aban- 
doned, entered  Berlin  in  triumph,  and  levied  enormous  contribu- 
tions on  the  kingdom,  to  the  amount  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-nine 
millions  of  francs.  In  less  than  seven  weeks,  three  hundred  and 
fifty  standards,  four  thousand  pieces  of  cannon,  and  eighty  thou- 
sand prisoners  were  taken ;  while  only  fifteen  thousand,  out  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men,  were  able  to  follow  the 
standards  of  the  conquered  king  to  the  banks  o£  the  Vistula. 
Alarm,  as  well  as  despondency,  now  seized  all  the  nations  of 
Europe.  All  the  coalitions  which  had  been  made  to  suppress  a 
revolutionary  state  had  failed,  and  the  proudest  monarchs  of 
Christendom  were  suppliant  at  the  feet  of  Napoleon. 

The  unfortunate  Frederic  William  sued  for  peace  ;  but  such 
hard  conditions  were  imposed  by  the  haughty  conqueror  at  Berlin, 
that  the  King  of  Prussia  prepared  for  further  resistance,  especially 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Russians  were  coming  to  his  assistance. 


CHAP.  XXXI.]    NAPOLEON  AGGRANDIZES  FRANCE.  513 

At  Berlin,  Napoleon  issued  his  celebrated  decrees  against  British 
commerce,  which,  however,  flourished  in  spite  of  them. 

Napoleon  then  advanced  into  Poland  to  meet  the  Russian  armies, 
and  at  Eylau,  on  the  8th  of  February,  1807,  was  fought  a  bloody 
battle,  in  which  fifty  thousand  men  perished.  It  was  indecisive, 
but  had  the  effect  of  checking  the  progress  of  the  French  armies. 
But  Napoleon  ordered  new  conscriptions,  and  made  unusual  exer- 
tions, so  that  he  soon  had  two  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  men 
between  the  Vistula  and  Memel.  New  successes  attended  the 
French  armies,  which  resulted  in  a  peace  with  Russia,  at  Tilsit, 
on  the  river  Niemen,  at  which  place  Napoleon  had  a  personal 
interview  with  the  Emperor  Alexander  and  the  King  of  Prussia. 
By  this  treaty,  (7th  July,)  Poland  was  erected  into  a  separate  prin- 
cipality, and  the  general  changes  which  Napoleon  had  made  in 
Europe  were  ratified  by  the  two  monarchs.  Soon  after.  Napo- 
leon, having  subdued  resistance  on  the  continent  of  Europe, 
returned  to  his  capital.  He  was  now  at  the  height  of  his  fame 
and  power,  but  on  an  elevation  so  high  that  his  head  became 
giddy.  Moreover,  his  elevation,  at  the  expense  of  Italy,  Belgium, 
Switzerland,  Austria,  Prussia,  Saxony,  and  Russia,  to  say  nothing 
of  inferior  powers,  excited  the  envy  and  the  hatred  of  all  over 
whom  he  had  triumphed,  and  prepared  the  way  for  new  intrigues 
and  coalitions. 

Napoleon,  after  the  peace  of  Tilsit,  devoted  all  his  energies  to 
the  preservation  of  his  power  and  to  the  improvement  of  his 
country,  and  expected  of  his  numerous  subjects  the  most  implicit 
obedience  to  his  will.  He  looked  upon  himself  as  having  received 
a  commission  from  Heaven  to  rule  and  to  reign  as  absolute  mon- 
arch of  a  vast  empire,  as  a  being  upon  whom  the  fate  of  France 
depended.  The  watchwords  "  liberty,"  "  equahty,"  "fraternity," 
"  the  public  welfare,"  were  heard  no  more,  and  gave  place  to  oth- 
ers which  equally  flattered  the  feelings  of  the  French  people  — 
"  the  interests  of  the  empire,"  "  the  splendor  of  the  imperial 
throne."  From  him  emanated  all  glory  and  power,  and  the  whole 
structure  of  the  state,  executive,  judicial,  and  legislative,  depended 
upon  his  will.  Freedom,  in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  was  succeeded 
by  glory,  and  the  eclat  of  victory  was  more  highly  prized  than  any 
fictitious  liberty.  The  Code  Napoleon  rapidly  progressed  ;  schools 

21 


514  AGGRANDIZEMENT    OF    NAPOJ^EON's    FAMILY.    [cHAP.  XXXI. 

of  science  were  improved ;  arts,  manufactures,  and  agriculture  re- 
vived. Great  monuments  were  reared  to  gratify  the  national  pride 
and  perpetuate  the  glory  of  conquests.  The  dignity  of  the  imperial 
throne  was  splendidly  maintained,  and  the  utmost  duties  of  eti- 
quette were  observed.  He  encouraged  amusements,  festivities, 
and  fetes;  and  Talma,  the  actor,  as  well  as  artists  and  scholars, 
received  his  personal  regard.  But  his  reforms  and  his  policy  had 
reference  chiefly  to  the  conversion  of  France  into  a  nation  of 
soldiers ;  and  his  system  of  conscription  secured  him  vast  and 
disciplined  armies,  not  animated,  as  were  the  soldiers  of  the 
revolution,  by  the  spirit  of  liberty,  but  transformed  into  mechan- 
ical forces.  The  time  was  to  come,  in  spite  of  the  military 
enthusiasm  of  his  veteran  soldiers,  when  it  was  to  be  proved 
that  the  throne  of  absolutism  is  better  sustained  by  love  than  by 
mechanism. 

Napoleon  had  already  elevated  his  two  brothers,  Louis  and 
Joseph,  to  the  thrones  of  Holland  and  Naples.  He  now  sought  to 
make  his  brother  Joseph  the  King  of  Spain.  He  availed  himself 
of  a  quarrel  between  King  Charles  and  his  son ;  acted  as  media- 
tor, in  the  same  sense  that  Hastings  and  Clive  acted  as  mediators 
in  the  quarrels  of  Indian  princes ;  and  prepared  to  seize,  not  to 
humble,  one  of  the  oldest  and  proudest  monarchies  of  Europe. 

The  details  of  that  long  war  on  the  Spanish  peninsula,  which 
resulted  from  the  appointment  of  Joseph  Bonaparte  to  the  throne 
of  Spain,  have  been  most  admirably  traced  by  Napier,  in  the  best 
military  history  that  has  been  written  in  modern  times.  The  great 
hero  of  that  war  was  Wellington ;  and,  though  he  fought  under 
the  greatest  disadvantages  and  against  superior  forces,  —  though 
unparalleled  sufferings  and  miseries  ensued  among  all  the  bel- 
ligerent forces,  —  still  he  succeeded  in  turning  the  tide  of  French 
conquest. 

Spain  did  not  fall  without  a  struggle.  The  Spanish  Juntas 
adopted  all  the  means  of  defence  in  their  power;  and  the 
immortal  defence  of  Saragossa,  the  capital  of  Arragon,  should 
have  taught  the  imperial  robber  that  the  Spanish  spirit,  though 
degenerate,  was  not  yet  extinguished. 

It  became  almost  the  universal  wish  of  the  English  to  afford  the 
Spaniards  every  possible  assistance  in  their  honorable  struggle, 


CHAP.  XXXI.]         THE  PENINSULAR  WAR.  515 

and  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley,  the  conqueror  of  the  Mahrattas,  landed 
in  Portugal  in  August,  1808.  He  was  immediately  opposed  by 
Marshal  Junot.  Napoleon  could  not  be  spared  to  defend  in  person 
the  throne  of  his  brother,  but  his  most  illustrious  marshals  were 
sent  into  the  field ;  and,  shortly  after,  the  battle  of  Corunna  was 
fought,  at  which  Sir  John  Moore,  one  of  the  bravest  of  generals, 
was  killed  in  the  moment  of  victory. 

Long  and  disastrous  was  that  Peninsular  war.  Before  it  could 
be  closed.  Napoleon  was  called  to  make  new  exertions.  Austria 
had  again  declared  war,  and  the  forces  which  she  raised  were 
gigantic.  Five  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men,  in  different 
armies,  were  put  under  the  command  of  the  Archduke  Charles. 
Napoleon  advanced  against  him,  and  was  again  successful,  at 
Abensberg  and  at  Eckmuhl.  Again  he  occupied  Vienna ;  but 
its  fall  did  not  discourage  the  Austrians,  who,  soon  after,  were 
marshalled  against  the  French  at  Wagram,  which  dreadful  battle 
made  Napoleon  once  more  the  conqueror  of  Austria.  On  the 
14th  of  November,  1809,  he  returned  to  Paris,  and  soon  after 
made  the  grand  mistake  of  his  life. 

He  resolved  to  divorce  Josephine,  whom  he  loved  and  respected  ; 
a  woman  fully  worthy  of  his  love,  and  of  the  exalted  position  to 
which  she  was  raised.  But  she  had  no  children,  and  Napoleon 
wanted  an  heir  to  the  universal  empire  which  he  sought  to  erect 
on  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  monarchies  of  Europe.  The  dream 
9f  Charlemagne  and  of  Charles  V.  was  his,  also  —  the  revival  of 
the  great  Western  Empire.  Moreover,  Napoleon  sought  a  domes- 
tic alliance  with  the  proud  family  of  the  German  emperor.  He 
sought,  by  this,  to  gratify  his  pride  and  strengthen  his  throne.  He 
perhaps  also  contemplated,  with  the  Emperor  of  Austria  for  his 
father  and  ally,  the  easy  conquest  of  Russia.  Alexander  so  sup- 
posed. "  His  next  task,"  said  he,  "  will  be  to  drive  me  back  to 
my  forests." 

The  Empress  Josephine  heard  of  the  intentions  of  Napoleon 
with  indescribable  anguish,  but  submitted  to  his  will ;  thus  sacri- 
ficing her  happiness  to  what  she  was  made  to  believe  would 
advance  the  welfare  of  her  country  and  the  interests  of  that 
heartless  conqueror  whom  she  nevertheless  loved  with  unparal- 
leled devotion.     On  the  11th  of  March,  1810,  the  espousals  of 


516  WAR    IN    SPAIN.  [chap.  XXXI. 

Napoleon  and  Maria  Louisa  were  celebrated  at  Vienna,  the  per- 
son of  the  former  being  represented  by  his  favorite  Berthier.  A 
few  days  afterwards  she  set  out  for  France  ;  and  her  marriage,  in 
a  domestic  point  of  view,  was  happy.  Josephine  had  the  advan- 
tage over  her  in  art  and  grace,  but  she  was  superior  in  the  charms 
of  simplicity  and  modesty.  "  It  is  singular,"  says  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  "  that  the  artificial  character  should  have  belonged  to  the 
daughter  of  a  West  India  planter ;  that,  marked  by  nature  and 
simplicity,  to  a  princess  of  the  proudest  court  in  Europe." 

Meanwhile,  the  war  in  Spain  was  prosecuted,  and  Napoleon 
was  master  of  its  richest  and  most  powerful  provinces.  Seventy- 
five  thousand  men  in  Andalusia,  under  Soult ;  fifty  thousand  under 
Marmont,  in  Leon ;  sixty  thousand  under  Bessieres,  at  Valladolid 
and  Biscay ;  forty-five  thousand  under  Macdonald,  at  Gerona,  to 
guard  Catalonia ;  thirty  thousand  under  Suchet,  twenty  thousand 
under  Joseph  and  Jourdan,  fifteen  thousand  under  Regnier,  besides 
many  more  thousand  troops  in  the  various  garrisons,  — ^  in  all  over 
three  hundred  thousand  men,  —  held  Spain  in  military  subjection. 
Against  these  immense  forces,  marshalled  under  the  greatest  gen- 
erals of  France,  Spain  and  her  allies  could  oppose  only  about 
ninety  thousand  men,  for  the  most  part  ill  disciplined  and  equipped. 

The  vital  point  of  resistance  was  to  be  found  shut  up  within  the 
walls  of  Cadiz,  which  made  a  successful  defence.  But  Tortosa, 
Tarragona,  Saguntum,  and  Valentia,  after  making  most  desperate 
resistance,  fell.  But  Wellington  gained,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
great  battle  of  Albuera,  one  of  the  bloodiest  ever  fought,  and 
which  had  a  great  effect  in  raising  the  spirits  of  his  army  and  of 
the  Spaniards.  The  tide  of  French  conquest  was  arrested,  and 
the  English  learned  from  their  enemies  those  arts  of  war  which 
had  hitherto  made  Napoleon  triumphant. 

In  the  next  campaign  of  1812,  new  successes  were  obtained  by 
Wellington,  and  against  almost  overwhelming  difficulties.  He 
renewed  the  siege  of  Badajoz,  and  carried  this  frontier  fortress, 
which  enabled  him  now  to  act  on  the  offensive,  and  to  enter  the 
Spanish  territories.  The  fall  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo  was  attended 
with  the  same  important  consequences.  Wellington  now  aimed 
to  reduce  the  French  force  on  the  Peninsula,  although  vastly  supe- 
rior to  his  own.     He  had  only  sixty  thousand  men ;  but,  with  thLs 


CHAP.  XXXI.]  INVASION    OF    RUSSIA.  517 

force,  he  invaded  Spain,  defended  by  three  hundred  thousand. 
Salamanca  was  the  first  place  of  consequence  which  fell:  Mar- 
mont  was  totally  defeated.  Wellington  advanced  to  Madrid,  which 
he  entered  the  12th  of  August,  amid  the  enthusiastic  shouts  of  the 
Spanish  population.  Soult  was  obliged  to  raise  the  siege  of  Cadiz, 
abandon  Andalusia,  and  hasten  to  meet  the  great  English  general, 
who  had  turned  the  tide  of  French  aggression.  Wellington  was 
compelled,  of  course,  to  retire  before  the  immense  forces  which 
were  marching  against  him,  and  fell  back  to  Salamanca,  and 
afterwards  to  Ciudad  Rodrigo.  The  campaign,  on  the  part  of  the 
English,  is  memorable  in  the  annals  of  successful  war,  and  the 
French  power  was  effectually  weakened,  if  it  was  not  destroyed. 

In  the  midst  of  these  successes,  Napoleon  prepared  for  his  disas- 
trous invasion  of  Russia  ;  the  most  gigantic  and  most  unfortunate 
expedition  in  the  whole  history  of  war. 

Napoleon  was  probably  induced  to  invade  Russia  in  order  to 
keep  up  the  succession  of  victories.  He  felt  that,  to  be  secure, 
he  must  advance  ;  that,  the  moment  he  sought  repose,  his  throne 
would  begin  to  totter  ;  that  nothing  would  sustain  the  enthusiasm  of 
his  countrymen  but  new  triumphs,  commensurate  with  his  greatness 
and  fame.  Some,  however,  dissuaded  him  from  the  undertaking, 
not  only  because  it  was  plainly  aggressive  and  unnecessary,  but 
because  it  was  impolitic.  Three  hundred  thousand  men  were  fight- 
ing in  Spain  to  establish  his  family  on  the  throne  of  the  Bourbons, 
and  the  rest  of  Europe  was  watching  his  course,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  assailing  him  so  soon  as  he  should  meet  with  misfortunes. 

But  neither  danger  nor  difficulty  deterred  Napoleon  from  the 
commission  of  a  gigantic  crime,  for  which  no  reasonable  apology 
could  be  given,  and  which  admits  of  no  palliation.  He  made, 
however,  a  fearful  mistake,  and  his  rapid  downfall  was  the  result. 
Providence  permitted  him  to  humble  the  powers  of  Europe,  but 
did  not  design  that  he  should  be  permanently  aggrandized  by  their 
misfortunes. 

The  forces  of  all  the  countries  he  had  subdued  were  marshalled 
with  the  French  in  this  dreadful  expedition,  and  nothing  but  enthu- 
siasm was  excited  in  all  the  dominions  of  the  empire.  The  army 
of  invasion  amounted  to  above  five  hundred  thousand  men,  only 
two  hundred  thousand  of  whom  were  native  French.  To  oppose 
44 


518  BATTLE    OF    SMOLENSKO.  [cHAP.  XXXI. 

this  enormous  force,  the  Russians  collected  about  three  hundred 
thousand  men ;  but  Napoleon  felt  secure  of  victory 

On  the  banks  of  the  Niemen  he  reviewed  the  principal  corps 
of  his  army,  collected  from  so  many  countries,  and  for  the  support 
of  which  they  were  obliged  to  contribute.  On  the  24th  of  June, 
he  and  his  hosts  crossed  the  river ;  and  never,  probably,  in  the 
history  of  man,  was  exhibited  a  more  splendid*  and  imposing 
scene. 

The  Russians  retreated  as  the  allied  armies  advanced  ;  and,  on 
the  28th  of  June,  Napoleon  was  at  Wilna,  where  he  foolishly 
remained  seventeen  days  —  the  greatest  military  blunder  of  his 
life.  The  Emperor  Alexander  hastened  to  Moscow,  collected  his 
armaments,  and  issued  proclamations  to  his  subjects,  which  excited 
them  to  the  highest  degree  of  enthusiasm  to  defend  their  altars 
and  their  firesides. 

Both  armies  approached  Smolensko  about  the  16th  of  July,  and 
there  was  fought  the  first  great  battle  of  the  campaign.  The 
town  was  taken,  and  the  Russians  retreated  towards  Moscow. 
But  before  this  first  conflict  began,  a  considerable  part  of  the  army 
had  perished  from  sickness  and  fatigue.  At  Borodino,  another 
bloody  battle  was  fought,  in  which  more  men  were  killed  and 
wounded  than  in  any  battle  which  history  records.  Napoleon,  in 
this  battle,  did  not  exhibit  his  usual  sagacity  or  energy,  being, 
perhaps,  overwhelmed  with  anxiety  and  fatigue.  His  dispirited 
and  broken  army  continued  the  march  to  Moscow,  which  was 
reached  the  14th  of  September.  The  Sacred  City  of  the  Russians 
was  abandoned  by  the  army,  and  three  hundred  thousand  of  the 
inhabitants  took  to  flight.  Napoleon  had  scarcely  entered  the 
deserted  capital,  and  taken  quarters  in  the  ancient  palace  of  the 
cssars,  before  the  city  was  discovered  to  be  on  fire  in  several  places  ; 
and  even  the  Kremlin  itself  was  soon  enveloped  in  flames.  Who 
could  have  believed  that  the  Russians  would  have  burnt  their 
capital  ?  Such  an  event  surely  never  entered  into  a  Frenchman's 
head.  The  consternation  and  horrors  of  that  awful  conflagration 
can  never  be  described,  or  even  conceived.  Pillage  and  murder 
could  scarcely  add  to  the  universal  wretchedness.  Execration, 
indignation,  and  vengeance  filled  the  breasts  of  both  the  conquerors 
and  the  conquered.     But  who  were  the  conquerors  ?     Alas  !  those 


CHAP.  XXXI.]        EETREAT  OF  THE  FRENCH.  519 

only,  who  witnessed  the  complicated  miseries  and  awful  destruc- 
tion of  the  retreating  army,  have  answered. 

The  retreat  was  the  saddest  tragedy  ever  acted  by  man,  but 
rendered  inevitable  after  the  burning  of  Moscow,  for  Napoleon 
could  not  have  advanced  to  St.  Petersburg.  For  some  time,  he 
lingered  in  the  vicinity  of  Moscow,  hoping  for  the  submission  of 
Russia.  Alexander  was  too  wise  to  treat  for  peace,  and  Napoleon 
and  his  diminished  army,  loaded,  however,  with  the  spoil  of 
Moscow,  commenced  his  retreat,  in  a  hostile  and  desolate  country, 
harassed  by  the  increasing  troops  of  the  enemy.  Soon,  however, 
heavy  frosts  commenced,  unusual  even  in  Russia,  and  the  roads 
were  strewed  by  thousands  who  perished  from  fatigue  and  cold. 
The  retreat  became  a  rout ;  for  order,  amid  general  destruction  and 
despair,  could  no  longer  be  preserved.  The  Cossacks,  too,  hung 
upon  the  rear  of  the  retreating  army,  and  cut  off  thousands  whom 
the  elements  had  spared.  In  less  than  a  week,  thirty  thousand 
horses  died,  and  the  famished  troops  preyed  upon  their  remains. 
The  efforts  of  Napoleon  proved  in  vain  to  procure  provisions  for  the 
men,  or  forage  for  the  horses.  Disasters  thickened,  and  all  aban- 
doned themselves  to  despair.  Of  all  the  awful  scenes  which 
appalled  the  heart,  the  passage  of  the  Beresina  was  the  most 
dreadful.  When  the  ice  was  dissolved  in  the  following  spring, 
twelve  thousand  dead  bodies  were  found  upon  the  shore.  The 
shattered  remnants  of  the  Grand  Army,  after  unparalleled  suffer- 
ing, at  length  reached  the  bank  of  the  Niemen.  Not  more  than 
twenty  thousand  of  the  vast  host  with  which  Napoleon  passed 
Smolensko  left,  the  Russian  territory.  Their  course  might  be 
traced  by  the  bones  which  afterwards  whitened  the  soil.  But 
before  the  Polish  territories  were  reached.  Napoleon  had  deserted 
his  army,  and  bore  to  Paris  himself  the  first  intelligence  of  his 
great  disaster.  One  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  of  his 
troops  had  died  in  battle,  one  hundred  and  ninety  thousand  had 
been  taken  prisoners,  and  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  thousand 
had  died  of  cold,  fatigue  and  famine.  Only  eighty  thousand  had 
escaped,  of  whom  twenty-five  thousand  were  Austrians  and 
eighteen  thousand  were  Prussians.  The  annals  of  the  world 
furnish  no  example  of  so  complete  an  overthrow  of  so  vast  an 
armament,  or  so  terrible  a  retribution  to  a  vain-glorious  nation. 


520  BATTLES  OF  LUTZEN  AND  BAUTZEN.   [cHAP.  XXXI. 

This  calamity  proved  the  chief  cause  of  Napoleon's  overthrow. 
Had  he  retained  his  forces  to  fight  on  the  defensive,  he  would 
have  been  too  strong  for  his  enemies ;  but,  by  his  Russian  cam- 
paign, he  lost  a  great  part  of  his  veteran  troops,  and  the  veneration 
of  his  countrymen. 

His  failure  was  immediately  followed  by  the  resurrection  of 
Germany.  Both  Austria  and  Prussia  threw  off  the  ignominious 
yoke  he  had  imposed,  and  united  with  Russia  to  secure  their 
ancient  liberties.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  Prussians  was  unbounded, 
and  immense  preparations  were  made  by  all  the  allied  powers  for 
a  new  campaign.  Napoleon  exerted  all  the  energies,  which  had 
ever  distinguished  him,  to  rally  his  exhausted  countrymen,  and  a 
large  numerical  force  was  again  raised.  But  the  troops  were 
chiefly  conscripts,  young  men,  unable  to  endure  the  fatigue  which 
his  former  soldiers  sustained,  and  no  longer  inspired  with  their 
sentiments  and  ideas. 

The  campaign  of  1813  was  opened  in  .Germany,  signalized 
by  the  battles  of  Lutzen  and  Bautzen,  in  which  the  French  had 
the  advantage.  Saxony  still  remained  true  to  Napoleon,  and  he 
established  his  head-quarters  in  Dresden.  The  allies  retreated, 
but  only  to  prepare  for  more  vigorous  operations.  England  nobly 
assisted,  and  immense  supplies  were  sent  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Elbe,  and  distributed  immediately  through  Germany.  While 
these  preparations  were  going  on,  the  battle  of  Vittoria,  in  Spain, 
was  fought,  which  gave  a  death  blow  to  French  power  in  the 
Peninsula,  and  placed  Wellington  in  the  front  rank  of  generals. 
Napoleon  was  now  more  than  ever  compelled  to  act  on  the  defen- 
sive, which  does  not  suit  the  genius  of  the  French  character,  and 
he  resolved  to  make  the  Elbe  the  base  of  his  defensive  operations. 
His  armies,  along  this  line,  amounted  to  the  prodigious  number  of 
four  hundred  thousand  men ;  and  Dresden,  the  head-quarters  of 
Napoleon,  presented  a  scene  of  unparalleled  gayety  and  splendor, 
of  licentiousness,  extravagance,  and  folly.  But  Napoleon  was 
opposed  by  equally  powerful  forces,  under  Marshal  Blucher,  the 
Prussian  general,  a  veteran  seventy  years  of  age,  and  Prince 
Schwartzenberg,  who  commanded  the  Austrians.  But  these  im- 
mense armies  composed  not  one  half  of  the  forces  arrayed  in 
desperate   antagonism.      Nine   hundred   thousand   men  in   arms 


CHAP.  XXXI.]  BATTLE    OF    LEIPSIC.  521 

encircled  the  French  empire,  which  was  defended  by  seven  hun- 
dred thousand. 

The  alHed  forces  marched  upon  Dresden,  and  a  dreadful  battle 
was  fought,  on  the  27th  of  August,  beneath  its  walls,  which  resulted 
in  the  retreat  of  the  allies,  and  in  the  death  of  General  Moreau, 
who  fought  against  his  old  commander.  But  Napoleon  was  una- 
ble to  remain  long  in  that  elegant  capital,  having  exhausted  his 
provisions  and  forage,  and  was  obliged  to  retreat.  On  the  15th 
of  October  was  fought  the  celebrated  battle  of  Leipsic,  in  which 
a  greater  number  of  men  were  engaged  than  in  any  previous  bat- 
tle during  the  war,  or  probably  in  the  history  of  Europe  —  two 
hundred  and  thirty  thousand  against  one  hundred  and  sixty  thou- 
sand. The  triumph  of  the  allies  was  complete.  Napoleon  was 
overpowered  by  the  overwhelming  coalition  of  his  enemies.  He 
had  nothing  to  do,  after  his  great  discomfiture,  but  to  retreat  to 
France,  and  place  the  kingdom  in  the  best  defence  in  his  power. 
Misfortunes  thickened  in  every  quarter;  and,  at  the  close  of  the 
campaign,  France  retained  but  a  few  fortresses  beyond  the  Rhine. 
The  contest  in  Germany  was  over,  and  French  domination  in  that 
country  was  at  an  end.  Out  of  four  hundred  thousand  men,  only 
eighty  thousand  recrossed  the  Rhine.  So  great  were  the  conse- 
quences of  the  battle  of  Leipsic,  in  which  the  genius  of  Napoleon 
was  exhibited  as  in  former  times,  but  which  availed  nothing  against 
vastly  superior  forces.  A  grand  alliance  of  all  the  powers  of 
Europe  was  now  arrayed  against  Napoleon  —  from  the  rock  of 
Gibraltar  to  the  shores  of  Archangel ;  from  the  banks  of  the 
Scheldt  to  the  margin  of  the  Bosphorus  ;  the  mightiest  confedera- 
tion ever  known,  but  indispensably  necessary.  The  greatness  of 
Napoleon  is  seen  in  his  indomitable  will  in  resisting  this  confed- 
eration, when  his  allies  had  deserted  him,  and  when  his  own  sub- 
jects were  no  longer  inclined  to  rally  around  his  standard.  He 
still  held  out,  even  when  over  a  million  of  men,  from  the  dif- 
ferent states  that  he  had  humbled,  were  rapidly  hemming  him 
round  and  advancing  to  his  capital.  Only  three  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  men  nominally  remained  to  defend  his  frontiers, 
while  his  real  effective  army  amounted  to  little  over  one  hundred 
thousand  men.  A  million  of  his  soldiers  in  eighteen  months  had 
perished,  and  where  was  he  to  look  for  recruits  ? 
44* 


522  THE    ALLIED   POWERS    INVADE    FRANCE.     [cHAP.  XXXI. 

On  the  31st  of  December,  1814,  fourteen  hundred  and  seven 
years  after  the  Suevi,  Vandals,  and  Burgundians  crossed  the  Rhine 
and  entered  without  opposition  the  defenceless  provinces  of  Gaul, 
the  united  Prussians,  Austrians,  and  Russians  crossed  the  same 
river,  and  invaded  the  territories  of  the  modem  Caesar.  They 
rapidly  advanced  towards  Paris,  and  Napoleon  went  forth  from  his 
capital  to  meet  them.  His  cause,  however,  was  now  desperate  ; 
but  he  made  great  exertions,  and  displayed  consummate  abilities, 
so  that  the  forces  of  his  enemies  were  for  a  time  kept  at  bay. 
Battles  were  fought  and  won  by  both  sides,  without  decisive 
results.  Slowly,  but  surely,  the  allied  armies  advanced,  and 
gradually  surrounded  him.  By  the  30th  of  March,  they  were 
encamped  on  the  heights  of  Montmartre ;  and  Paris,  defenceless 
and  miserable,  surrendered  to  the  conquerors.  They  now  refused 
to  treat  with  Napoleon,  who,  a  month  before,  at  the  conference  of 
Chatillon,  might  have  retained  his  throne,  if  he  had  consented  to 
reign  over  the  territories  of  France  as  they  were  before  the  Revo- 
lution. Napoleon  retired  to  Fontainebleau  ;  and,  on  the  4th  of 
April,  he  consented  to  abdicate  the  throne  he  no  longer  could 
defend.  His  wife  returned  to  her  father's  protection,  and  nearly 
every  person  of  note  or  consideration  abandoned  him.  On  the 
11th,  he  formally  abdicated,  and  the  house  of  Bourbon  was  re- 
stored. He  himself  retired  to  the  Island  of  Elba,  but  was  allowed 
two  million  five  hundred  thousand  francs  a  year,  the  title  of  em- 
peror, and  four  hundred  soldiers  as  his  body  guard.  His  farewell 
address  to  the  soldiers  of  his  old  guard,  at  Fontainebleau,  was  pa- 
thetic and  eloquent.  They  retained  their  attachment  amid  general 
desertion  and  baseness. 

Josephine  did  not  long  survive  the  fall  of  the  hero  she  had  loved, 
and  with  whose  fortunes  her  own  were  mysteriously  united.  She 
died  on  the  28th,  and  her  last  hours  were  soothed  by  the  presence 
of  the  Emperor  Alexander,  who  promised  to  take  her  children 
under  his  protection.  Of  all  the  great  monarchs  of  his  age, 
he  was  the  most  extensively  beloved  and  the  most  profoundly 
respected. 

The  allies  showed  great  magnanimity  and  moderation  after  their 
victory.  The  monarchy  of  France  was  established  nearly  as  it 
was  before  the  Revolution,  and  the  capital  was  not  rifled  of  any  of 


CHAP.  XXXI.]  PEACE    OF   PARIS.  523 

its  monuments,  curiosities,  or  treasures  —  not  even  of  those  which 
Napoleon  had  brought  from  Italy.  Nor  was  there  a  military  con- 
tribution imposed  upon  the  people.  The  allies  did  not  make  war 
to  destroy  the  kingdom  of  France,  but  to  dethrone  a  monarch  who 
had  proved  himself  to  be  the  enemy  of  mankind.  The  peace  of 
Paris  was  signed  by  the  plenipotentiaries  of  France,  Great  Britain, 
Russia,  Prussia,  and  Austria,  on  the  30th  of  April ;  and  Christen- 
dom, at  last,  indulged  the  hope  that  the  awful  conflict  had  ended. 
The  Revolution  and  its  offspring  Napoleon  were  apparently  sup- 
pressed, after  more  than  three  millions  of  men  had  perished  in  the 
struggle  on  the  part  of  France  and  of  her  allies  alone. 

Great  changes  had  taken  place  in  the  sentiments  of  all  classes, 
since  the  commencement  of  the  contest,  twenty  years  before,  and 
its  close  excited  universal  joy.  In  England,  the  enthusiasm  was 
unparalleled,  and  not  easy  to  be  conceived.  The  nation,  in  its 
gratitude  to  Wellington,  voted  him  four  hundred  thousand  pounds, 
and  the  highest  military  triumphs.  It  also  conferred  rewards  and 
honors  on  his  principal  generals ;  for  his  successful  operations  in 
Spain  were  no  slight  cause  of  the  overthrow  of  Napoleon. 

But  scarcely  were  these  rejoicings  terminated,  before  Napoleon 
escaped  from  Elba,  and  again  overturned  the  throne  of  the  Bour- 
bons. The  impolitic  generosity  and  almost  inconceivable  rashness 
of  the  allies  had  enabled  Napoleon  to  carry  on  extensive  intrigues 
in  Paris,  and  to  collect  a  respectable  force  on  the  island  of  which 
he  was  constituted  the  sovereign ;  while  the  unpopularity  and  im- 
politic measures  of  the  restored  dynasty  singularly  favored  any 
scheme  which  Napoleon  might  have  formed.  The  disbanding  of 
an  immense  military  force,  the  humiliation  of  those  veterans  who 
still  associated  with  the  eagles  of  Napoleon  the  glory  of  France, 
the  derangement  of  the  finances,  and  the  discontents  of  so  many 
people  thrown  out  of  employment,  naturally  prepared  the  way  for 
the  return  of  the  hero  of  Marengo  and  Austerlitz. 

On  the  26th  of  February,  he  gave  a  brilliant  ball  to  the  princi- 
pal people  of  the  island,  and  embarked  the  same  evening,  with 
eleven  hundred  troops,  to  regain  the  sceptre  which  had  been 
wrested  from  him  only  by  the  united  powers  of  Europe.  On  the 
1st  of  March,  his  vessels  cast  anchor  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Juan,  on 
the  coast  of  Provence ;  and  Napoleon  immediately  commencec' 


524  napoleon's  return  to  France,      [chap.  xxxi. 

his  march,  having  unfurled  the  tricolored  flag.  As  he  anticipated, 
he  was  welcomed  by  the  people,  and  the  old  cry  of  "  Vive  VEm- 
pereur  "  saluted  his  ears. 

The  court  of  the  Bourbons  made  vigorous  preparations  of  resist- 
ance, and  the  armies  of  France  were  intrusted  to  those  marshals 
who  owed  their  elevation  to  Napoleon.  Soult,  Ney,  Augereau, 
Massena,  Oudinot,  all  protested  devotion  to  Louis  XVIII. ;  and 
Ney  promised  the  king  speedily  to  return  to  Paris  with  Napoleon 
in  an  iron  cage.  But  Ney  was  among  the  first  to  desert  the  cause 
of  law  and  legitimacy,  and  threw  himself  into  the  arms  of  the 
emperor.  He  could  not  withstand  the  arts  and  the  eloquence  of 
that  great  hero  for  whose  cause  he  had  so  long  fought  The  de- 
fection of  the  whole  army  rapidly  followed.  The  king  was  obliged 
to  fly,  and  Napoleon  took  possession  of  his  throne,  amid  the  uni- 
versal transports  of  the  imperial  party  in  France. 

The  intelligence  of  his  restoration  filled  Europe  with  consterna- 
tion, rage,  and  disappointment,  and  greater  preparations  were 
made  than  ever  to  subdue  a  man  who  respected  neither  treaties  nor 
the  interests  of  his  country.  The  unparalleled  sum  of  one  hun- 
dred and  ten  millions  of  pounds  sterling  was  decreed  by  the  British 
senate  for  varbus  purposes,  and  all  the  continental  powers  made 
proportionate  exertions.  The  genius  of  Napoleon  never  blazed 
so  brightly  as  in  preparing  for  his  last  desperate  conflict  with 
united  Christendom  ;  and,  considering  the  exhaustion  of  his  coun- 
try, the  forces  which  he  collected  were  astonishing.  Before  the 
beginning  of  June,  two  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  veteran  sol- 
diers were  completely  armed  and  equipped ;  a  great  proof  of  the 
enthusiastic  ardor  which  the  people  felt  for  Napoleon  to  the  last. 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  had  eighty  thousand  effective  men 
under  his  command,  and  Marshal  Blucher  one  hundred  and  ten 
thousand.  These  forces  were  to  unite,  and  march  to  Paris  through 
Flanders.  It  was  arranged  that  the  Austrians  and  Russians  should 
invade  France  first,  by  Befort  and  Huningen,  m  order  to  attract 
the  enemy's  principal  forces  to  that  quarter. 

Napoleon's  plan  was  to  collect  all  his  forces  into  one  mass,  and 
boldly  to  place  them  between  the  English  and  Prussians,  and 
attack  them  separately.  He  had  under  his  command  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand  veteran  troops,  and  therefore,  not  unreason- 


CHA^  XXXI.]  BATTLE    OF    WATERLOO.  525 

ably,  expected  to  combat  successfully  the  one  hundred  and 
ninety  thousand  of  the  enemy.  He  forgot,  however,  that  he  had 
to  oppose  Wellington  and  Blucher. 

On  the  l8thofJune-was  performed  the  last  sad  act  of  the  great 
tragedy  which  had  for  twenty  years  convulsed  Europe  with  blood 
and  tears.  All  the  combatants  on  that  eventful  day  understood 
the  nature  of  the  contest,  and  the  importance  of  the  battle.  At 
Waterloo,  Napoleon  staked  his  last  throw  in  the  desperate  game 
he  had  hazarded,  and  lost  it;  and  was  ruined,  irrevocably  and 
forever. 

Little  signified  his  rapid  flight,  his  attempt  to  defend  Paris,  or 
his  readiness  to  abdicate  in  favor  of  his  son.  The  allied  powers 
again,  on  the  7th  of  July,  entered  Paris,  and  the  Bourbon  dynasty 
was  restored. 

Napoleon  retired  to  Rochefort,  hoping  to  escape  his  enemies 
and  reach  America.  It  was  impossible.  He  then  resolved  to 
throw  himself  upon  the  generosity  of  the  English.  He  was 
removed  to  St.  Helena,  where  he  no  longer  stood  a  chance  to 
become  the  scourge  of  the  nations.  And  there,  on  that  lonely 
island,  in  the  middle  of  the  ocean,  guarded  most  effectually  by 
his  enemies,  his  schemes  of  conquest  ended.  He  supported  his 
hopeless  captivity  with  tolerable  equanimity,  showing  no  signs  of 
remorse  for  the  injuries  he  had  inflicted,  but  meditating  profoundly 
on  the  mistakes  he  had  committed,  and  conjecturing  vainly  on  the 
course  he  might  have  adopted  for  the  preservation  of  his  power. 

How  idle  were  all  his  conjectures  and  meditations  !  His  fall 
was  decreed  in  the  councils  of  Heaven,  and  no  mortal  strength 
could  have  prevented  his  overthrow.  His  mission  of  blood  was 
ended ;  and  his  nation,  after  its  bitter  humiliation,  was  again  to 
enjoy  repose.  But  he  did  not  live  in  vain.  He  lived  as  a  messen- 
ger of  divine  vengeance  to  chastise  the  objects  of  divine  indigna- 
tion. He  lived  to  show  to  the  world  what  a  splendid  prize  human 
energy  could  win  ;  and  yet  to  show  how  vain,  after  all,  was  mili- 
tary glory,  and  how  worthless  is  the  enjoyment  of  any  victory 
purchased  by  the  sufferings  of  mankind.  He  lived  to  point  the 
melancholy  moral,  that  war,  for  its  own  sake,  is  a  delusion,  a 
mockery,  and  a  snare,  and  that  the  greater  the  elevation  to  which 
unlawful   ambition   can   raise   a   man,  the   greater   will   be   his 


526  REFLECTIONS    ON    NAPOLEON's    FALL.       [cHAP.  XXXI. 

subsequent  humiliation  ;  that  "  pnde  goeth  before  destruction,  and 
a  haughty  spirit  before  a  fall." 

The  allied  sovereigns  of  Europe  insisted  on  the  restoration  of 
the  works  of  art  which  Napoleon  had  pillaged.  "  The  bronzed 
horses,  brought  from  Corinth  to  Rome,  again  resumed  their  old 
station  in  the  front  of  the  Church  of  St.  Mark  ;  the  Transfiguration 
was  restored  to  the  Vatican;  the  Apollo  and  the  Laocoon  again 
adorned  St.  Peter's ;  the  Venus  was  enshrined  with  new  beauty 
a  t  Florence  ;  and  the  Descent  from  the  Cross  was  replaced  in  the 
Cathedral  of  Antwerp."  By  the  treaty  which  restored  peace  to 
Europe  for  a  generation,  the  old  dominions  of  Austria,  Prussia, 
Russia,  Spain,  Holland,  and  Italy  were  restored,  and  the  Bourbons 
again  reigned  over  the  ancient  provinces  of  France.  Popular 
liberty  on  the  continent  of  Europe  was  entombed,  and  the  dreams 
of  revolutionists  were  unrealized  ;  but  suffering  proved  a  beneficial 
ordeal,  and  prepared  the  nations  of  Europe  to  appreciate,  more 
than  ever,  the  benefits  and  blessings  of  peace. 


References.  —  The  most  complete  work,  on  the  whole,  though  full  of 
faults,  and  very  heavy  and  prosaic,  is  Alison's  History  of  the  French 
Revolution.  Scott's  Life  of  Napoleon  was  too  hastily  written,  an  d  has  many 
mistakes.  No  English  author  has  done  full  justice  to  Napoleon.  Thiers's 
Histories  are  invaluable.  Napier's  History  of  the  Peninsula  "War  is 
masterly.  Wellington's  Despatches  are  indispensable  only  to  a  student. 
Botta's  History  of  Italy  under  Napoleon.  Dodsley's  Annual  Register. 
I>abaume'8  Russian  Campaign.  Southey's  Peninsular  War.  Libome's 
Waterloo  Campaign.  Southey's  Life  of  Nelson.  Sherer's  Life  of  the 
Duke  of  Wellington.  Giiford's  Life  of  Pitt.  Moore's  Life  of  Sir  John 
Moore.  James's  Naval  History.  Memoirs  of  the  Duchess  d'Abrantes. 
Berthier's  Histoire  de  I'Exp^dition  d'Egypte.  Schlosser's  Modern  History, 
The  above  works  are  the  most  accessible,  but  form  but  a  small  part  of 
those  which  have  appeared  concerning  the  French  Revolution  and  the 
career  of  Napoleon.  For  a  complete  list  of  original  authorities,  see  the 
prefiEice  of  Alison,  and  the  references  of  Thiers. 


CHAP.  XXXII.  COMPLEXITY    OF    MODEEX    HISTORY.  527 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

EUROPE  ON  THE  FALL  OF  NAPOLEON. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  trace  the  history  of  the  civilized  world 
since  the  fall  of  Napoleon ;  but  any  attempt  to  bring  within  the 
limits  of  a  history  like  this  a  notice  of  the  great  events  which 
have  happened  for  thirty-five  years,  would  be  impossible.  And 
even  a  notice  as  extended  as  that  which  has  been  presented  of  the 
events  of  three  hundred  years  would  be  unsatisfactory  to  all  minds. 
The  common  reader  is  familiar  with  the  transactions  of  the 
present  generation,  and  reflections  on  them  would  be  sure  to  excite 
the  prejudices  of  various  parties  and  sects.  A  chronological  table 
of  the  events  which  have  transpired  since  the  downfall  of  Napoleon 
is  all  that  can  be  attempted.  The  author  contemplates  a  continu- 
ation of  this  History,  which  will  present  more  details,  collected 
from  original  authorities.  The  history  of  the  different  American 
States,  since  the  Revolution  ;  the  administration  of  the  various 
presidents ;  the  late  war  with  Great  Britain ;  the  Seminole  and 
Mexican  wars  ;  the  important  questions  discussed  by  Congress  ;  the 
contemporary  history  of  Great  Britain  under  George  IV.,  William 
IV.,  and  Victoria  ;  the  conquests  in  India  and  China  ;  the  agitations 
of  Ireland  ;  the  great  questions  of  Reform,  Catholic  Emancipation, 
Education, and  Free  Trade  ;  the  French  wars  in  Africa;  the  Turk- 
ish war ;  the  independence  of  the  Viceroy  of  Egypt ;  the  progress 
of  Russian  territorial  aggrandizement ;  the  fall  of  Poland ;  the 
Spanish  rebellion ;  the  independence  of  the  South  American  states  ; 
the  Dutch  and  Belgic  war ;  the  two  last  French  revolutions  ;  the 
great  progress  made  in  arts  and  sciences,  and  the  various  attempts 
in  different  nations  to  secure  liberty ;  —  these,  and  other  great  sub- 
jects, can  only  be  properly  discussed  in  a  separate  work,  and  even 
then  cannot  be  handled  by  any  one,  however  extraordinary  his 
talents  or  attainments,  without  incurring  the  imputation  of  great 
audacity,  which  only  the  wants  of  the  public  can  excuse. 

In  concluding  the  present  History,  a  very  brief  notice  of  the 


528  BEMARKABLE    MEN    OF    GENIUS.  [CHAP.  XXXji. 

State  of  the  civilized  world  at  the  fall  of  Napoleon  may  be,  perhaps, 
required. 

England  suffered  less  than  any  other  of  the  great  powers  from 
the  French  Revolution.  A  great  burden  was,  indeed,  entailed  on 
future  generations ;  but  the  increase  of  the  national  debt  was  not 
felt  so  long  as  English  manufactures  were  purchased,  to  a  great 
extent,  by  the  Continental  States.  Six  hundred  million  pounds 
were  added  to  the  national  debt;  but  England,  internally,  was 
never  more  flourishing  than  during  this  long  war  of  a  quarter  of  a 
century.  And  not  only  was  glory  shed  around  the  British  throne 
by  the  victories  of  Nelson  and  Wellington,  and  the  effectual  assist- 
ance which  England  rendered  to  the  continental  powers,  and  with- 
out which  the  liberties  of  Europe  would  have  been  subverted,  but, 
during  the  reign  of  George  III.,  a  splendid  constellation  of  men  of 
genius,  in  literature  and  science,  illuminated  the  world.  Dr.  John- 
son made  moral  reflections  on  human  life  which  will  ever  instruct 
mankind ;  Burke  uttered  prophetic  oracles  which  even  his  age  was 
not  prepared  to  appreciate ;  and  his  rivals  thundered  in  the  senate 
with  an  eloquence  and  power  not  surpassed  by  the  orators  of 
antiquity  ;  Gibbon  wrote  a  history  which  such  men  as  Guizot  and 
Milman  pronounced  wonderful  both  for  art  and  learning ;  Hume, 
Reid,  and  Stewart,  carried  metaphysical  inquiry  to  its  utmost  depth  ; 
Gray,  Bums,  Goldsmith,  Coleridge,  Southey,  and  Wordsworth, 
were  not  unworthy  successors  of  Dryden  and  Pope ;  Adam  Smith 
called  into  existence  the  science  of  political  enonomy,  and  nearly 
brought  it  to  perfection  in  a  single  lifetime ;  Reynolds  and  West 
adorned  the  galleries  with  pictures  which  would  not  have  disgraced 
the  land  of  artists  ;  while  scholars,  too  numerous  to  mention,  aston- 
ished the  world  by  the  extent  of  their  erudition ;  and  divines,  in 
language  which  rivalled  the  eloquence  of  Chrysostom  or  Bossuet, 
declared  to  an  awakened  generation  the  duties  and  destinies  of 
man. 

France,  the  rival  of  England,  was  not  probably  permanently 
injured  by  the  Revolution ;  for,  if  millions  of  lives  were  sacrificed, 
and  millions  of  property  were  swept  away,  still  important  civil 
and  social  privileges  were  given  to  the  great  mass  of  the  people, 
and  odious  feudal  laws  and  customs  were  broken  forever.  All 
the  glory  which  war  can  give,  was  obtained ;  and  France,  for 


CHAP.  XXXII.]  CONDITION    OF   GERMANY.  529 

twenty  years,  was  feared  and  respected.  Popular  liberty  was  not 
secured ;  but  advances  were  made  towards  it,  and  great  moral 
truths  were  impressed  upon  the  nation,  —  to  be  again  disregarded, 
but  not  to  be  forgotten.  The  territorial  limits  of  France  were  not 
permanently  enlarged,  and  the  conquests  of  Napoleon  were  restored 
to  the  original  rulers.  The  restoration  of  the  former  political 
system  was  insisted  upon  by  the  Holy  Alliance,  and  the  Bourbon 
kings,  in  regaining  their  throne,  again  possessed  all  that  their  an- 
cestors had  enjoyed  but  the  possession  of  the  hearts  of  the  people. 
The  allied  powers  may  have  restored  despotism  and  legitimacy  for 
a  while ;  they  could  not  eradicate  the  great  ideas  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  these  were  destined  once  more  to  overturn  their  thrones. 
The  reigns  of  Louis  XVIII. ,  Charles  X.,  and  Louis  Philippe  were 
but  different  acts  of  the  long  tragedy  which  was  opened  by  the 
convocation  of  the  States  General,  and  which  is  not  probably 
closed  by  the  election  of  Prince  Louis  Napoleon  to  the  presidency 
of  the  French  republic.  The  ideas  which  animated  La  Fayette 
and  Moreau,  and  which  Robespierre  and  Napoleon  at  one  time 
professed,  still  live,  in  spite  of  all  the  horrors  of  the  Reign  of 
Terror,  and  all  the  streams  of  blood  which  flowed  at  Leipsic  and 
Waterloo.  Notwithstanding  the  suicidal  doctrines  of  Socialists 
and  of  the  various  schools  of  infidel  philosophers,  and  in  view  of 
all  the  evils  which  papal  despotism,  and  democratic  license,  and 
military  passions  have  inflicted,  and  will  continue  to  inflict,  still 
the  immortal  principles  of  liberty  are  safe  under  the  protection  of 
that  Providence  which  has  hitherto  advanced  the  nations  of  Europe 
from  the  barbarism  and  paganism  of  ancient  Teutonic  tribes. 

Germany  suffered  the  most,  and  apparently  reaped  the  least, 
from  the  storms  which  revolutionary  discussion  had  raised.  Aus- 
tria and  Prussia  were  invaded,  pillaged,  and  humiliated.  Their 
cities  were  sacked,  their  fields  were  devastated,  and  the  blood  of 
their  sons  was  poured  out  like  water.  But  sacrifice  and  suffering 
developed  extraordinary  virtues  and  energies,  united  the  various 
states,  and  gave  nationality  to  a  great  confederation.  The  struggles 
of  the  Germany  were  honorable  and  gigantic,  and  proved  to  the 
world  the  impossibility  of  the  conquest  of  states,  however  afflicted, 
when  they  are  resolved  to  defend  their  rights.  The  career  of 
Napoleon  demonstrated  the  impossibility  of  a  universal  empire  in 
45        2K 


530  CONDITION    OF    OTHER    POWERS.  [cHAP.  XXXII. 

Europe,  and  least  of  all,  an  empire  erected  over  the  prostrated 
thrones  and  discomfited  armies  of  Germany.  The  Germans 
learned  the  necessity  and  the  duty  of  union,  and  proved  the 
strength  of  their  sincere  love  for  their  native  soil  and  their  vener- 
able institutions.  The  Germans,  though  poor  in  gold  and  silver, 
showed  that  they  were  rich  in  patriotic  ardor,  and  in  all  those 
glorious  sentiments  which  ennoble  a  great  and  progressive  nation. 
After  twenty  years'  contention,  and  infinite  sacrifices  and  humilia- 
tions, the  different  princes  of  Germany  recovered  their  ancient 
territorial  possessions,  and  were  seated,  more  firmly  than  before, 
on  the  thrones  which  legitimacy  had  consecrated. 

Absolute  monarchy  was  restored  also  to  Spain ;  but  the  imbecile 
Bourbons,  the  tools  of  priests  and  courtiers,  revived  the  ancient 
principles  of  absolutism  and  bigotry,  without  any  of  those  virtues 
which  make  absolutism  respectable  or  bigotry  endurable.  But  in 
the  breasts  of  Spanish  peasants  the  fires  of  liberty  burned,  which 
all  the  terrors  of  priestly  rule,  and  all  the  evils  of  priestly  corrup- 
tion, could  not  quench.  They,  thus  far,  have  been  unfortunate ; 
but  no  person  who  has  studied  the  elements  of  the  Spanish  char- 
acter, or  has  faith  in  the  providence  of  God,  can  doubt  that  the 
day  of  deliverance  will,  sooner  or  later,  come,  unless  he  has  the 
misfortune  to  despair  of  any  permanent  triumph  of  liberty  in  our 
degenerate  world. 

In  the  northern  kingdoms  of  Europe,  no  radical  change  took 
place  ;  and  Italy,  the  land  of  artists,  so  rich  in  splendid  recollec- 
tions, so  poor  in  all  those  blessings  which  we  are  taught  to  value, 
returned  to  the  dominion  of  Austria,  and  to  the  rule  of  despotic 
priests.  Italy,  disunited,  abandoned,  and  enslaved,  has  made  gen- 
erous eflTorts  to  secure  what  is  enjoyed  in  more  favored  nations, 
but  hitherto  in  vain.  So  slow  is  the  progress  of  society  !  so  hard 
are  the  struggles  to  which  man  is  doomed  !  so  long  continued  are 
the  effbrts  of  any  people  to  secure  important  privileges ! 

Greece  made,  however,  a  more  successful  effort,  and  the  fetters 
of  the  Turkish  sultan  were  shaken  off*.  The  Ottoman  Porte 
looked,  with  its  accustomed  indifference,  on  the  struggles  of  the 
Christians,  and  took  no  active  part  in  the  war  until  absolutely 
forced.  But  it  looked  with  the  indifference  of  decrepit  age,  rather 
than   with  the  philosophical  calmness  of  mature  strength,   and 


I 


CHAP.  XXXII.]        THE    UNITED    STATES    OF    AMERICA.  531 

exerted  all  the  remaining  energies  it  possessed  to  prevent  the 
absorption  of  the  state  in  the  vast  and  increasing  empire  of  the 
czars.  Russia,  of  all  the  great  powers  which  embarked  in  the 
contest  to  which  we  have  alluded,  arose  the  strongest  from  defeat 
and  disaster.  The  rapid  aggrandizement  of  Russia  immediately 
succeeded  the  fall  of  Napoleon. 

The  spiritual  empire  of  the  Popes  was  again  restored,  and  the 
Jesuits,  with  new  powers  and  privileges,  were  sent  into  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth  to  uphold  the  absolutism  of  their  great  head. 
Again  they  have  triumphed  when  their  cause  seemed  hopeless ; 
nor  is  it  easy  to  predict  the  fall  of  their  empire.  So  long  as  the 
principle  of  Evil  shall  contend  with  the  principle  of  Good,  the 
popes  will  probably  rejoice  and  weep  at  alternate  victories  and 
defeats. 

The  United  States  of  America  were  too  far  removed  from  the 
scene  of  conflict  to  be  much  affected  by  the  fall  of  thrones.  More- 
over, it  was  against  the  wise  policy  of  the  government  to  interfere 
with  foreign  quarrels.  But  the  American  nation  beheld  the  conflict 
with  any  feelings  but  those  of  indifference,  and,  while  its  enlightened 
people  speculated  on  the  chances  of  war,  they  still  devoted  them- 
selves with  ardor  to  the  improvement  of  their  institutions,  to  agricul- 
ture, and  manufacturing  interests.  Merchants,  for  a  while,  made 
their  fortunes  by  being  the  masters  of  the  carrying  trade  of  the  world, 
and  the  nation  was  quietly  enriched.  The  wise  administrations  of 
Washington,  Adams,  Jefferson,  and  Madison,  much  as  they  con- 
flicted, in  some  respects,  with  each  other,  resulted  in  the  growth 
of  commerce,  manufactures,  agriculture,  and  the  arts ;  while  insti- 
tutions of  literature  and  religion  took  a  deep  hold  of  the  affections 
of  the  people.  The  country  increased  and  spread  with  unparal- 
leled rapidity  on  all  sides,  and  the  prosperity  of  America  was  the 
envy  and  the  admiration  of  the  European  world.  The  encroach, 
ments  of  Great  Britain,  and  difficulties  which  had  never  been 
settled,  led  to  a  war  between  the  two  countries,  which,  though 
lamented  at  the  time,  is  now  viewed,  by  all  parties,  as  resulting  in 
the  ultimate  advancement  of  the  United  States  in  power  and 
wealth,  as  well  as  in  the  respect  of  foreign  nations.  Great  ques- 
tions  connected  with  the  rapid  growth  of  the  country,  unfortunately, 
at  iifferent  times,  have  produced  acrimonious  feelings  between 


532  THE    UNITED    STATES.  [cHAP.  XXXII. 

different  partisans ;  but  the  agitation  of  these  has  not  checked  the 
growth  of  American  institutions,  or  weakened  those  sentiments  of 
patriotism  and  mutual  love,  which,  in  all  countries  and  ages,  have 
constituted  the  glory  and  defence  of  nations.  The  greatness  of 
American  destinies  is  now  a  favorite  theme  with  popular  orators. 
Nor  is  it  a  vain  subject  of  speculation.  Our  banner  of  Liberty 
will  doubtless,  at  no  distant  day,  wave  over  all  the  fortresses  which 
may  be  erected  on  the  central  mountains  of  North  America,  or 
on  the  shores  of  its  far  distant  oceans ;  but  all  national  aggran- 
dizement will  be  in  vain  without  regard  to  those  sacred  principles 
of  law,  religion,  and  morality,  for  which,  in  disaster  and  sorrow, 
both  Puritan  Settler  and  Revolutionary  Hero  contended.  The 
believer  in  Progress,  as  affected  by  influences  independent  of 
man,  as  coming  from  the  benevolent  Providence  which  thus  far 
has  shielded  us,  cannot  otherwise  than  hope  for  a  still  loftier 
national  elevation  than  has  been  yet  attained,  with  all  the  aid  of 
circumstances,  and  all  the  energies  of  heroes. 


APPENDIX. 


CHRONOLOGICAL   TABLE 

FROM  THE 

FALL    OP   NAPOLEON. 

1815. —  Battle  of  Waterloo,  (June  18.)  Napoleon  embarks  for  St.  He- 
lena, (August  7.)  Final  Treaty  at  Paris  between  the  Allied  Powers, 
(November  20.)  Inauguration  of  the  King  of  Holland.  First  Steam 
Vessels  on  the  Thames. 

1816.  —  Great  Agricultural  distress  in  Great  Britain.  Brazil  declared  a 
Kingdom.  Consolidation  of  the  Exchequers  of  England  and  Lreland. 
Marriage  of  the  Princess  Charlotte  with  Prince  Leopold. 

1817.  —  Disorders  in  Spain.  Renewal  of  the  Bill  for  the  suspension  of 
the  Habeas  Corpus  Act.  Inauguration  of  President  Monroe.  Death 
of  the  Princess  Charlotte.     Death  of  C\irran. 

1818.  —  Entire  Withdrawal  of  Foreign  Forces  from  France.  Seminole 
War.  Great  Discussions  in  Parliament  on  the  Slave  Trade.  Death 
of  Warren  Hastings,  of  Lord  Ellenborough,  and  of  Sir  Philip  Francis. 

1819.  —  Great  depression  of  Trade  and  Manufactiires  in  Great  Britain. 
Great  Reform  meetings  in  Manchester,  Leeds,  and  other  large 
Towns.  Lord  John  Russell's  Motion  for  a  Reform  in  Parliament. 
Organized  bands  of  robbers  in  Spain.  Settlement  of  the  Pindarric 
War  in  India.     Assassination  of  Kotzebue. 

1820.  — Death  of  George  III.,  (January  23.)  Lord  Brougham's  Plan  of 
Popxdar  Education.  Proceedings  against  Queen  Caroline.  Rebellion 
in  Spain.  Trial  of  Sir  Francis  Burdett.  Election  of  Sir  Humphrey 
Davy  as  President  of  the  Royal  Society.  Ministry  in  France  of  the 
Due  de  Richelieu.    Death  of  Grattan ;  of  the  Duke  of  Kent. 

1821.  —  Second  Inauguration  of  President  Monroe.  Revolution  in  Naples 
and  Piedmont.  Insurrections  in  Spain.  Independence  of  Colombia, 
and  fall  of  Spanish  Power  in  Mexico  and  Peru.  Disturbances  in 
Ireland.  War  in  the  Morea.  Formal  occupation  of  the  Floridas  by 
the  United  States.  Extinction  of  the  Mamelukes.  Revolt  in  Walla- 
chia  and  Moldavia.    Death  of  Queen  Caroline ;  of  Napoleon. 

45* 


534  APPENDIX. 

1822.  —  Mr.  Canning's  Bill  for  the  admission  of  Catholic  Peers  to  the 
House  of  Lords.  Disturbances  in  Ireland.  Sir  James  Mackintosh's 
Motion  for  a  reform  of  Criminal  Law.  Mr.  Canning  succeeds  the 
Marquis  of  Londonderry  (Lord  Castlereagh)  as  Secretary  of  State  for 
Foreign  Affairs.  Lord  Amherst  appoiiated  Governor- General  of  India. 
Fall  of  the  administration  of  the  Due  de  Richelieu.  Congress  of 
Viemjia.  War  in  Greece.  Insiurrection  of  the  Janizaries,  llie  Per- 
sian War.  Settlement  of  the  Canadian  Boundary.  Suicide  of  the 
Marquis  of  Londonderry. 

1823.  —  Great  Agricultural  Distress  in  Great  Britain.  Debates  on  Cath- 
olic Emancipation,  and  on  the  Slave  Trade.  French  Invasion  of 
Spain.      Captain  Franklin's  Voyage  to  the  Polar  Seas.     Death  of 

Pius  vn. 

1824.  —  General  Prosperity  in  England.  Capture  of  Ipsara  by  the  Turks. 
Visit  of  La  Fayette  to  the  United  States.  Leaders  of  the  Carbonari 
suppressed  in  Italy  by  the  Austrian  Government.  Repeal  of  duties 
between  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  Burmese  War,  and  Capture  of 
Rangoon.  Censorship  of  the  Press  in  France.  Death  of  Louis  XVIII., 
(September  16.) 

1825.  —  Inauguration  of  President  Adams.  Independence  of  Brazil  ac- 
knowledged by  Portugal.  Coronation  of  Charles  X.  Siege  of  Mis- 
solonghi.  Inundations  in  the  Netherlands.  Death  of  the  Emperor 
Alexander,  (December  1.) 

1826.  —  Bolivar  chosen  President  of  Peru  for  Life.  Independence  of 
Hayti  acknowledged  by  France.  Riots  in  Lancashire.  Surrender 
of  the  fortress  of  St.  Juan  d'UUoa  to  the  Mexicans.  Great  Debates 
in  Parliament  on  the  Slave  Trade.  Death  of  Ex-President  Adams ; 
of  Jefferson.     Coronation  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas. 

1827.  —  Death  of  the  Earl  of  Liverpool,  and  dissolution  of  the  Ministry. 
Mr.  Canning  appointed  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury ;  dies  four  months 
after ;  succeeded  by  Lord  Goderich.  National  Guard  disbanded  in 
France.  Defeat  of  the  Greek  army  before  Athens.  Battle  of  Nav- 
arino.  Foundation  of  the  University  of  London.  Death  of  the 
Duke  of  York ;  of  La  Place ;  of  Mitford,  the  Historian ;  of  Eich- 
hom  ;  of  Pestalozzi ;  of  Beethoven  ;  of  King  Frederic  Augustus  of 
Saxony. 

1828.  —  Dissolution  of  Lord  Goderich's  Ministry,  and  new  one  formed 
under  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  Mr.  Peel,  and  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen. 
Repeal  of  the  Test  and  Corporation  Acts.  New  Com  Law.  Riots 
in  Ireland.  Mr.  O'Connell  represents  the  County  of  Clare.  New 
and  Liberal  ministry  in  France.  Final  departure  of  the  French 
Armies  from  Spain.  War  between  Naples  and  Tripoli.  War  between 
Russia  and  Turkey.     Independence  of  Greece.    Death  of  Ypsilanti. 

1829.  —  Inauguration  of  President  Jackson.  Passage  of  the  Catholic 
Emancipation  Bill.     New  and  Ultra-Royalist  ministry  in  France, 


APPENDIX.  535 

under  Polignac.  Victories  of  Count  Diebitsch  against  the  Turks. 
Surrender  of  Adrianople.  Civil  War  in  Mexico.  Bon  Miguel 
acknowledged  as  King  of  Portugal  by  Spain.  Burning  of  York 
Cathedral.  Treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Brazil,  Civil 
War  in  Chili.     Death  of  Judge  Washington. 

1830.  —  Great  discussions  in  Congress  on  the  Tariff.  Reform  Agitations 
in  England.  Death  of  George  IV.,  (June  26.)  New  Whij  Ministry 
under  Earl  Grey  and  Lord  John  Russell.  Opening  of  the  Liverpool 
Railroad.  Revolution  in  France,  and  the  Duke  of  Orleans  declared 
King.  Capture  of  Algiers  by  the  French.  Belgium  erected  into  an  in- 
dependent Kingdom.  Riots  and  Insurrections  in  Germany.  Plots  of 
the  Carlists  in  Spain.  Murder  of  Joseph  White.  Death  of  Pope  Leo 
XII. ;  of  the  King  of  Naples ;  of  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence ;  of  the  Grand 
Duke  of  Baden. 

1831.  —  Dissolution  of  the  Cabinet  at  Washington.  Great  discussions  on 
the  Reform  Bill.  Agitations  in  Ireland.  Leopold  made  King  of 
Belgium.  Insurrection  in  Switzerland.  Revolution  in  Poland. 
Treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Turkey.  Coronation  of 
William  IV.  Appearance  of  the  Cholera  in  England.  Its  great 
ravages  on  the  Continent.  Death  of  Bolivar ;  of  Robert  HaU ;  of 
Mrs.  Siddons ;  of  William  Roscoe  ;  of  James  Monroe. 

1832.  —  Veto  of  President  Jackson  of  the  Bill  to  recharter  the  United 
States  Bank.  Discontents  in  South  Carolina,  in  consequence  of  the 
Tariff.  War  with  the  Indians.  Bristol  and  Birmingham  Riots. 
Final  passage  of  the  Reform  Bill.  AboUtion  of  the  Slave  Trade  in 
Brazil.  Death  of  Casimir  Perier,  Prime  Minister  of  France,  who  is 
succeeded  by  Marshal  Soult.  Death  of  Sir  Walter  Scott ;  of  Sir 
James  Mackintosh  ;  of  Spurzheira  ;  of  Cuvier ;  of  Goethe ;  of  Cham- 
pollion  ;  of  Adam  Clarke;  of  Andrew  Bell ;  of  Anna  Maria  Porter ; 
of  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton. 

1833.  —  Second  Inauguration  of  Andrew  Jackson.  Mr.  Clay's  Tariff 
Bill.  President  Jackson's  war  with  the  United  States  Bank.  Re- 
charter  of  the  Bank  of  England  and  of  the  East  India  Company. 
Fortifications  of  Paris  commenced.  Santa  Anna  inaugurated  Presi- 
dent of  Mexico.  Bill  passed  to  abolish  slavery  in  the  British  Colo- 
nies. Trial  of  Avery.  Death  of  the  King  of  Spain  ;  of  Mr.  Wilber- 
force  ;  of  Hannah  More  ;  of  Caspar  Hauser ;  of  Lord  Grenville  ;  of 
Dr.  Schleiermacher. 

1834.  —  Discussions  on  the  Corn  Laws.  Destruction  of  the  two  Houses 
of  Parliament.  Change  of  Ministry  in  France.  Congress  of  Vienna. 
Donna  Maria  acknowledged  Queen  of  Portugal.  Opening  of  the 
Boston  and  Worcester  Railroad.  Resignation  of  Earl  Grey,  suc- 
ceeded by  Lord  Melbourne,  "W'ho  is  again  shortly  succeeded  by  Sir 
Robert  Peel.  Irish  Coercion  Bill.  Death  of  La  Fayette ;  of  William 
Wirt ;  of  Dr.  Porter ;  of  General  Huntingdon ;  of  Coleridge ;  of 
Rev.  Edward  Irvingr. 


536  APPENDIX. 

1836.  —  New  Ministry  of  Viscount  Melbourne.  French  expedition  to 
Algiers.  Otho  made  King  of  Greece.  Suppression  of  the  Jesuits  in 
Spain.  Remarkable  eruption  of  Vesuvius.  Revolt  in  Spaiii.  Great 
fire  in  New  York.  Death  of  the  Emperor  of  Austria ;  of  Chief 
Justice  Marshall ;  of  Nathan  Dane ;  of  McCrie  ;  of  William  Cot- 
bett. 

1836.  —  Settlement  of  the  disputes  between  France  and  the  Unitea 
States.  Resignatit)n  of  M.  Thiers,  who  is  succeeded,  as  Prime  Min- 
ister of  Franco,  by  Count  Mol6.  MiUtary  operations  against  Abd-el- 
Kader.  Massacre  of  the  Carlist  Prisoners  at  Barcelona.  Isturitz 
made  Prime  Minister  of  Spain.  Prince  Louis  Napoleon  attempts  an 
insurrection  at  Strasburg.  Commutation  of  Tithes  in  England. 
Bill  for  the  Registration  of  Births  and  Marriages.  Passage  of  the 
Irish  Mimicipal  Corporation  Bill.  Agitations  in  Canada.  Wai  be- 
tween Texas  and  Mexico.  Burning  of  the  Patent  Office  at  Wash- 
ington. Death  of  Aaron  Burr ;  of  the  Abbe  Si^yes ;  of  Lord  Stow- 
ell ;  of  Godwin. 

1837. — Inauguration  of  President  Van  Biiren.  Death  of  William  IV., 
(Jime  20.)  Insurrection  in  Canada.  Suspension  of  cash  payments 
by  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  in  Philadelphia,  and  by  the  banks 
in  New  York.  Acknowledgment  of  the  Independence  of  Texas. 
Treaty  with  the  Indians.  Great  failures  in  New  York.  Great  Prot- 
estant Meeting  in  Dublin.  Change  of  Ministry  in  Spain.  Death  of 
Gustavus  Adolphus  IV.  of  Sweden ;  of  M.  de  Pradt ;  of  Abiel 
Holmes  ;  of  Dr.  Griffin  ;  of  Chailes  Botta;  of  Lovejoy. 

1838.  —  War  with  the  Seminoles.  General  Scott  takes  command  of  the 
New  York  Militia  on  the  Frontiers.  Affair  of  the  Choline.  Lord 
Durham  Governor- General  of  Canada.  Coronation  of  Queen  Vic- 
toria ;  of  the  Emperor  Ferdinand.  Violence  of  Civil  War  in  Spain. 
Circassian  War.  Revolution  in  Peru  and  Bolivia.  Peace  between 
Russia  and  Turkey.  Great  Chartist  meetings  in  England.  Emanci- 
pation of  the  West  India  Negro  Apprentices.  Death  of  Lord  Eldon  ; 
of  Talleyrand ;  of  Noah  Worcester ;  of  Dr.  Bowditch ;  of  Zachary 
Macaulay. 

1839.  —  Disputes  between  Maine  and  New  Brunswick.  Resignation  of 
the  Melbourne  Ministry,  and  the  failure  of  Sir  Robert  Peel  to  con- 
struct a  new  one.  Binningham  Riots.  Chartist  Convention.  Resig- 
nation of  Count  Mole,  who  is  succeeded,  as  Prime  Minister,  by  Mar- 
shal Soult,  and  Guizot.  Capture  of  the  fortress  of  St.  Juan  d'Ulloa 
by  the  French.  Treaty  of  Peace  between  France  and  Mexico.  Aff- 
ghan  War.  War  between  Turkey  and  Mohammed  Ali.  Invasion 
of  Syria.  Death  of  Lady  Hester  Stanhope ;  of  Governor  Hayne  ;  of 
Dr.  Bancroft ;  of  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer ;  of  Zerah  Colbum ;  of 
Samuel  Ward. 

.  *40.  —  Marriage  of  Queen  Victoria.  Penny  Postage  in  England.  Afghan 


APPENDIX.  537 

War.  Difficulties  in  China  respecting  the  Opium  Trade.  Blockade 
of  Canton.  Ministry  of  M.  Thiers.  Arrival  of  Napoleon's  Remains 
from  St.  Helena.  Abdication  of  the  King  of  Holland.  Continued 
Civil  War  in  Spain.  Burning  of  the  Lexington.  Ministry  of  Espar- 
tero.  Death  of  Frederic  William  III.  of  Prussia ;  of  Lord  Camden  ; 
of  Dr.  Olinthus  Gregory ;  of  Blumenbach ;  of  Dr.  FoUen ;  of  Dr. 
Kirkland ;  of  John  Lowell ;  of  Judge  Mellen  ;  of  Dr.  Emmons ;  of 
Prof.  Davis. 

1841.  —  Inauguration  of  President  Harrison;  his  Death;  succeeded  by 
John  Tyler.  Trial  of  McLeod.  Repeal  of  the  Sub-Treasury.  Veto, 
by  the  President,  of  the  Bill  to  establish  a  Bank.  Resignation  of  the 
Melbourne  Ministry,  succeeded  by  that  of  Sir  Robert  Peel.  War  in 
Scinde.  Espartero  sole  Regent  of  Spain.  Revolution  in  Mexico. 
Treaty  between  Turkey  and  Egypt.  Treaty  between  the  United 
States  and  Portugal.  Death  of  Chantrey ;  of  Dr.  Marsh ;  of  Dr. 
Oliver ;  of  Dr.  Ripley ;  of  Blanco  White  ;  of  William  Ladd. 

1842.  —  Great  Debates  in  Parliament  on  the  Corn  Laws.  New  TariiF  of 
Sir  Robert  Peel.  AfFghan  War.  Treaty, of  Peace  between  England 
and  China.  Treaty  between  England  and  the  United  States  respect- 
ing the  North-eastern  Boundary  Question.  Chartist  Petitions.  In- 
come Tax.  Accident  on  the  Paris  and  Versailles  Railroad.  Death 
of  the  Duke  of  Orleans ;  of  Lord  Hill ;  of  Dr.  Channing  ;  of  Dr.  Ar- 
nold ;  of  Jeremiah  Smith. 

1843.  —  Activity  of  the  Anti  Corn  Law  League.  Repeal  Agitation  in 
Ireland.  Monster  Meetings.  Establishment  of  the  Free  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Scotland.  War  in  Scinde.  Sir  James  Graham's  Factory 
Bill.  Repudiation  of  State  Debts.  Death  of  Southey;  of  Dr. 
Ware  ;  of  Allston  ;  of  Legare ;  of  Dr.  Richards  ;  of  Noah  Webster. 

1844.  —  Corn  Law  Agitations  in  Great  Britain.  Passage  of  the  Sugar 
Duties  Bill ;  of  the  Dissenters'  Chapel  Bill.  State  Trials  in  Ireland. 
Opening  of  the  Royal  Exchange.  Sir  Charles  Napier's  victories  in 
India.  Louis  Philippe's  visit  to  England.  War  between  France  and 
Morocco.  Disturbances  on  the  Livingston  and  Rensselaer  Manors. 
Insurrection  in  Mexico.     Death  of  Secretary  Upshur. 

1845.  —  Installation  of  President  Polk.  Treaty  between  the  United  States 
and  China.  Great  Fire  in  New  York.  Municipal  disabilities  re- 
moved from  the  Jews  by  Parliament.  War  in  Algeria.  Abdication 
of  Don  Carlos.  Termination  of  the  War  in  Scinde.  Revolution  in 
Mexico.    War  in  the  Punjaub. 

1846.  —  War  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico.  Battle  of  Monterey. 
New  Tariff  Bill.  Passage  of  the  Corn  Bill  in  England,  and  Repeal 
of  Duties.  Free  Trade  policy  of  Sir  Robert  Peel.  Settlement  of 
the  Oregon  Question.  Distress  in  Ireland  by  the  failure  of  the  Po- 
tato Crop.  Resignation  of  Sir  Robert  Peel ;  succeeded  by  Lord  John 
Russell.    Marriage  of  the  Queen  of  Spain ;  and  of  her  sister,  the 


538 


APPENDIX. 


Infanta,  to  the  Due  de  Montpensier.  Escape  of  Prince  Louis  Napo- 
leon from  Ham.  Death  of  Pope  Gregory  XVI.,  and  elevation  of 
Pius  IX.     Death  of  Louis  Napoleon,  Ex-King  of  Holland. 

1847.  —  Splendid  military  successes  of  Generals  Scott  and  Taylor  in  Mex- 
ico. Fall  of  Mexico.  Ravages  of  the  Potato  Disease.  Awful  Dis- 
tress in  Ireland.  Guizot  succeeds  Soult  as  President  of  the  Council. 
Frequent  changes  of  Ministry  in  Spain.  Civil  War  in  Switzerland. 
Grant  of  a  Constitution  to  Prussia.  Liberal  Measures  of  Pius  IX. 
Death  of  the  King  of  Denmark  ;  of  Dr.  Chalmers  ;  of  Silas  Wright. 

1848.  —  French  Revolution,  and  Fall  of  Louis  Philippe.  Abdication  of 
the  King  of  Bavaria.  Tumults  in  Vienna  and  Berlin.  Riots  in 
Rome.  Chartist  demonstrations  in  London.  Election  of  the  Na- 
tional Assembly  in  France.  General  fermentation  throughout  Eu- 
rope. Distress  of  Ireland.  Oregon  Territorial  Bill.  Free  SoU 
Convention  in  Buffalo.  Death  of  John  Quincy  Adams.  Election 
of  General  Taylor  for  President  of  the  United  States. 


PRIME    MINISTERS    OF    ENGLAND 

SINCE    THE    ACCESSION    OF    HENRY    VIII. 


KING    HENRY   VIII. 

1609.  Bishop  Fisher,  and  Earl  of 
Surrey. 

1613.  Cardinal  Thomas  Wolsey. 

1629.  Sir  Thomas  More,  and  Cran- 
mer. 

1632.  Lord  Audley,  (Chancellor,) 
Archbishop  Cranmer. 

1638.  Lord  Cromwell,  (Earl  of  Es- 
sex.) 

1640.  Duke  of  Norfolk,  Earl  of 
Surrey,  and  Bishop  Gar- 
diner. 

1644.  Lord  Wriothesley,  Earl  of 
Hertford. 

KING    EDWARD   VI. 

The  Earl  of  Hertford,  contin- 
ued. 


1652.  John,  Duke  of  Northumber- 
land. 

QUEEN   MARY. 
1663.  Bishop  Gardiner. 

QUEEN    ELIZABETH. 
1558.  Sir  Nicholas  Bacon,  and  Sit 

William  Cecil,  (afterwards 

Lord  Burleigh.) 
1564.  Earl  of  Leicester,  (a  favorite.) 
1588.  Earl  of  Essex. 
1601.  Lord  Buckhurst. 

JAMES    I. 
Lord    Buckhurst,    (Earl    of 
Dorset.) 
1608.  Earls  of  Salisbury,    Suffolk, 
and  Northampton. 


APPENDIX. 


1612.  Sir  Robert  Carr  (Earl  of  Som- 
erset.) 

1615.  Sir  George  Villiers  (Duke  of 
Buckingham.) 

CHiiRLES   I. 

Duke  of  Buckingham. 

1628.  Earl  of  Portland,  Archbishop 

Laud. 
1640.  Archbishop    Laud,    Earl    of 
Strafford,  Lord  Cottington. 

1640.  Earl  of  Essex. 

1641.  Lord  Falkland,  Lord  Digby. 


Civil  War, 
well. 


and  Oliver  Crom- 


CHARLES  II. 
1660.  Earl  of  Clarendon. 
1667.  Dukes  of   Buckingham   and 

Lauderdale. 
1667.  Lord  Ashley,  Lord  Arlington, 

Lord  Clifford. 
1673.  Lord  Arlington,  Lord  Ashley 
(Earl  of  Shaftesbury,)  and 
Sir  Thomas  Osborne. 
Sir  Thomas  Osborne. 
Earl  of  Essex,  Duke  of  Or- 
mond.  Marquis  of  Halifax, 
Sir  William  Temple. 
Duke  of  York  and  his  friends. 


1674, 
1677 


1682. 


JAMES    II. 


1685.  Earls  of  Sunderland  andTyr- 
connell,  Lord  Jeffreys. 

1687.  Lord  Jeffreys,  Lord  Arundel^ 

Earl  of  Middleton. 

WILLIAM    III. 

1688.  Lord    Somers,   Lord   Godol- 

phin,  Earl  of  Danby  (Duke 

of  Leeds.) 
1695.  Earl  of  Sunderland. 
1697.  Charles  Montague    (Earl  of 

Halifax,)    Earl    of    Pem- 


broke, Viscount  Lonsdale, 
Earl  of  Oxford. 

QUEEN    ANNE. 

1705.  Lord  Godolphin,  K.  Harley, 
Lord  Pembroke,  Duke  of 
Buckingham,Duke  of  Marl- 
borough. 

1707.  Earl  Godolphin,  Lord  Cow- 
per,  Dukes  of  Marlborough 
and  Newcastle. 

1710.  R.  Harley  (Earl  of  Oxford.) 

1710.  Earl  of  Rochester,  Lord  Dart- 
mouth, Henry  St.  John 
(Lord  Bolingbroke,)  Lord 
Harcourt. 

1714.  Duke  of  Shrewsbury. 


1714. 


1715. 
1717. 
1718. 
1721. 


1742. 


1743. 


1746. 


1754. 


1756. 


GEORGE    I. 

Lord  Cowper,  Duke  of 
Shrewsbury,  Marquis  of 
Wharton,  Earl  of  Oxford, 
Duke  of  Marlborough, Vis- 
count Townshend. 

Robert  Walpole,  Esq, 

Earl  Stanhope. 

Earl  of  Sunderland. 

Sir  Robert  Walpole  (Earl  of 
Orford.) 

GEORGE  II. 

Lord  Carteret,  Lord  Wilming- 
ton, Lord  Bath,  Mr.  San- 
dys, &c. 

Hon.  Henry  Pelham,  Lord 
Carteret,  Earl  of  Har- 
rington, Duke  of  Newcas- 
tle, &c. 

Mr.  Pelham,  Earl  of  Chester- 
field, Duke  of  Bedford,  &c. 

Duke  of  Newcastle,  Sir  Thos. 
Robinson,  Henry  Fox,  &c. 

Duke  of  Devonshire,  Mr. 
William  Pitt,  Earl  Temple, 
Hon.  H.  B.  Legge,  &o. 


540 


APPENDIX. 


(Dismissed  in  April,  1767  ; 
restored  in  June  the  same 
year.) 
1767.  William  Pitt,  Mr.  Legge,  Earl 
Temple,  Duke  of  Newcas- 
tle, &c. 

GEORGE   III. 

1761.  Earl  of  Bute>  Earl  of  Egre- 

mont,  Duke  of  Bedford,  &c. 

1762.  Earl  of  Bute,  Hon.  George 

Grenville,    Sir    F.    Dash- 
wood,  &c. 

1763.  Hon.  George  Grenville,  Earl 

of  Halifax,  Earl  of  Sand- 
wich, &c. 

1 765.  Marqtiis  of  Rockingham.Diike 

of  Grafton,  Earl  of  Shel- 
bume,  &c. 

1766.  Duke  of  Grafton,  Hon.  Chas. 

Townshend,  Earl  of  Chat- 
ham, &c. 

1767.  Duke  of  Grafton,  Lord  North, 

&c. 
1770.  Lord  North,  Lord  Halifax,  &c. 
1779.  Lord  North,  Lord  Dartmouth, 

Lord  Stormont,  &c. 
1782.  Marquis  of  Rockingham,  Chas. 

James  Fox,  &c. 

1782.  Earl  of  Shelbume,  William 

Pitt,  &c. 

1783.  Duke     of     Portland,     Lord 

North,  Mr.  Fox,  &c. 
1783.  Mr.  Pitt,  Lord  Gower,  Lord 

Thurlow,  &c. 
1786.  Mr.  Pitt,  Lord  Camden,  Mar- 
quis of  Stafford,  &c. 
1790.  Mr.     Pitt,    Lord    Grenville, 

Duke  of  Leeds. 
1795.  Mr.  Pitt,  Duke  of  Portland, 

Mr.  Dundas,  &c. 
1801.  Rt.  Hon.  Henry  Addington, 

Duke  of  Portland,  &c. 
1804.  Mr.  Pitt,  Lord  Melville,  Geo. 

Canmng,  &c. 


1806.  Lord  Grenville,  Earl  Spencer, 

Mr.  Fox,  &c. 

1807.  D\ike  of  Portland,  Mr.  Can- 

ning, Earl  Camden,  &c. 
1809.  Mr.  Perceval,  Earl  of  Liver- 
pool,   Marquis    Welleeley, 
&c. 

REGENCY  OF  THE  PRINCE  OF 
WALES. 
Mr.  Perceval,  Earl  of  Liver- 
pool, &c. 
1812.  Earl  of   Liverpool,  Viscount 
Castlereagh,  Viscoimt  Sid- 
mouth,  &c.  . 

GEORGE   IV. 
Earl  of  Liverpool,  &c. 
1827.  Rt.    Hon.   George    Canning, 
Lord  Goderich,  Lord  Lynd- 
hurst,  &c. 

1827.  Viscount  Goderich,  Duke  of 

Portland,  Mr.   Huskisson, 
&c. 

1828.  Duke  of  Wellington,  Rt.  Hon. 

Robert  Peel,  Viscount  Mel- 
ville, &c. 
1828.  Duke  of  Wellington,  Earl  of 
Aberdeen,  Sir  G.  Murray, 
&c. 

WILLIAM    IV. 
Duke  of  Wellington,  j&c. 

1830.  Earl  Grey, Viscount  Althorpe, 
Melbourne,  Goderich,  and 
Palmerston,  &c. 
(Earl  Grey  resigns  May  9, 
but  resumes  office  May  18.) 

1834.  Viscount  Melbourne,Vi8co\mt 
Althorpe,  Lord  John  R\is- 
sell,  Lord  Palmerston,  &c. 

1834.  Viscount  Melbourne's  Ad- 
ministration dissolved.  The 
Duke  of  Wellington  takes 
the  helm  of  state  provis- 
ionally, waiting  the  return 


APPENDIX. 


543 


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